A Fate Like No Other
by Dragon-Tooth
Summary: The past once lived in Ancient Egypt is far darker than what the Spirits remember. A hidden secret is being forced to the surface & thousands of years of lies are being shredded. The Plagues will be unleashed. The Gods will rule. The time of man will end.
1. Prologue: Something Left Unfinished

**A Fate Like No Other**

_A Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic_

Alright! Hey, everyone! This is my story that I started back in Grade Seven. I have since revised it and now I'm posting it for real this time, no more changes now that this is done. I tried to use what I had posted way back then, but, after rereading it - really rereading it - I realized my plots and excuses were patched together with duct tape and bubble gum SO... rewritten and reposted! TA DA! XD

First off, I want to give a HUGE thank you to the brilliant mind of **Hakurei Ryuu **who patiently revised each chapter! She's a really good friend, a very helpful critique, and an awesome writer! Go check out her account! Especially her story "Full Circle" which is completely wicked in my own opinion. XD Thank you so much, Hakurei Ryuu! I couldn't have done this without you! *hug*

I'm going to tell you right now: **THIS IS RATED TEEN **for harsh language and violence! It's an angst so - yes - I describe the more bloody scenes. It's not senseless violence, but people will die... horribly. You have been warned so don't bug me with messages saying I didn't.

I'm not going to say all the pairings in this, but this story is** NOT BASED AROUND COUPLES**! This is based on the **DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD**! ...Or something close to it. I do have slight "romance" if you could even call it that... but this is a darker story than what the original anime/manga is. If you considered the dub intense with its 'implied punches' and 'invisible guns' (damn, I love LittleKuriboh), then this story isn't for you.

Oh, just so you know ahead of time... **EACH MILLENNIUM ITEM DOES CONTAIN ITS OWN SPIRIT**, not just the Puzzle and Ring, and **SHADI IS HUMAN**, not a ghost. Those are pretty much the only real differences between this story and the dub. Each Item has a spirit because I like the idea of the past-versions mingling with the modern-versions of themselves and Shadi is mortal because I love him and he deserves better than the cheap roll he played in the dub.

**BETTER SUMMERY (you might wanna read this):** History has always been written by the survivors, to lay trust in such a thing is foolishness, but surely we can trust our own memories... can't we? Just how easily manipulated is such a thing? The past once lived in Ancient Egypt is far darker than what the Spirits remember and, finally, a hidden secret is finally being forced to the surface by the very one that they were forced to forget. Now, thousands upon thousands of years worth of lies are brought into the light and past mistakes must be faced once and for all. This is no longer a mere race between life and death, host and spirit, mortal and immortal... now this has become a race between Mankind and the Gods themselves... a race over ten-thousand years in the making.

**Before we start, here's a little help for what means what in this story.**

(( ... )) - Thoughts of the first spirit in the body, can be for conversation in a mind-link or merely thinking to self.

)) ... (( - Thoughts of a second spirit in the body, can be for conversation in a mind-link or merely thinking to self. Usually a yami.

( ) ... ( ) - Thoughts from a third spirit in the body, can be for conversation in a mind-link or merely thinking to self. Usually from a being that doesn't belong with the host.

_ITALIC WRITING _- Flashbacks.

ALL CAPS SPEECH - Strained or shouted words.

HIKARI - I use it as a pronoun to describe the modern reincarnations.

YAMI - When used in all lower case, I use it as a pronoun to describe the Bearers from the past.

BEARER - The modern term for those who wield Items.

PRIEST/PRIESTESS - The ancient terms for those who wield(ed) Items.

SORCERER/SORCERESS - The ancient term for those who had mastered Shadow Magic without an Item.

MAGE - The ancient term for those who knew weak Shadow Magic.

HIGH COUNCIL - The Pharaoh's old court who's members were held in the highest of standing in all Egypt.

_**Quote of the Chapter:**__ Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. _(George Santayana)

_**Song of the Chapter:**__ Once in Every Lifetime _(Jem)

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I only own my characters and my storyline. *Hugs them tightly* MINE! GET YOUR OWN!_

**Prologue: Something Left Unfinished**

It had all started with a gift - a unique, yet simple, gift - from a Grandpa to his only Grandson.

The connection had been instant. The shy boy became completely immersed with the glistening artifact, so consumed by the silent promise he heard as the pieces slid against each other, that, at times, he wouldn't even notice the hours of the night slide away into morning. He didn't know how many times he had gone to school with no sleep, but, even then, he knew it would be worth it in the end. After all, his Grandpa had given him such a special puzzle, such a special challenge... such a special chance to do what no one else had been able to do: solve it.

After he did, everything had changed and, the stupid thing was, he had been completely clueless about it for the longest time. His confidence began to steady increase and he was given friends the likes of which he had only been able to dream of before, the closest of which he hadn't even been aware of at the beginning. His obsession over a puzzle – over the Millennium Puzzle – had carved a path for him of great adventures, great suffering, and great joy... and, now, it was all coming to an end.

Every battle, every rivalry, every challenge... had lead up to a single duel. Seto Kaiba, Maximilian Pegasus, Marik Ishtar, Dartz, Bakura, and all the others that had fallen by the wayside one by one... they had merely been trivial practice in comparison to this.

Violet eyes lifting from the cards he held in his hand, Yugi Muto stared across to his waiting opponent... only to catch the stare that was a darker reflection of his own. Usually, Atemu's gaze held a fierceness to it, a keen sense of authority, but not today... today it was warm and accompanied by a rare, small smile.

The Pharaoh had his memories back, those that he had lost all those years ago to keep Zork the Dark One at bay, and, now, he desired to claim what had been out of his reach for over three-thousand years - an eternal rest. Of course, it would not just be a rest for him, but for all the spirits of the Millennium Items that would follow Atemu should Yugi manage to win against his alter-ego. Six of the seven spirits had waited long enough for their journey to the afterlife and that last one was doomed to never know it at all. After all, once the Millennium Ring dissolved into the darkness, Bakura would have no way of returning from the Shadow Realm, no way of coming to possess Ryou, ever again. He would be sealed for eternity amongst the creatures as if he was one himself and, many argued, that Bakura was a monster like them... merely one in human form.

In any case, the evil Tomb Robber was of barely any concern now. His part in the game was through, his presence only somewhat felt through his old host who stood as though he was one of the gang with everyone else. All their friends - including Yugi's Grandpa, the Ishtars, Duke Devlin, and the Kaiba brothers - watched with interest as the duel between near-duplicates began to play out.

The Millennium Items were already set in the statue, their powers and their spirits waiting for the conclusion of the duel, and Yugi was determined to win. Of course, his alter-ego wasn't making this any easier for him, but the hikari had expected as much. Over the years, they had shared the title as King of Games between them... but, by all rights, that title belonged to Atemu and every one of his moves so far had shown that. However, there was one thing that Yugi wanted almost as badly as helping his friend move on to the afterlife... and that was to prove to everyone - and himself - that, he, too, deserved such a title. He wanted to prove himself once and for all... and, for the first time since he had put together the Millennium Puzzle, he had been given the chance to do just that.

Atemu had flawlessly summoned two of the Egyptian Gods, Obelisk the Tormentor and Slifer the Sky Dragon, to the field already... and he was ready to summon the third. With three Knights already set up, the Pharaoh carefully pulled the final card from his opposite hand.

His crimson eyes flickered to the card for a brief second before falling back to his hikari, ((It is time.)) Atemu gave a faltering smile, "I sacrifice my Queen's Knight, my Jack's Knight, and my King's Knight...!"

Yugi forced himself not to shrink back, but he couldn't hold in the startled gasp from his throat as it dawned on the hikari just what he would now have to face now. Even through all the battles that they had used the Gods... no one had ever had to face all three at once. No one.

Kaiba and Marik, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, stared on with wide eyes, each of them barely grasping the fact of having TWO Egyptian Gods on the field at once... but now...

"Is he...?!" Caught with his guard-down, Kaiba almost staggered.

Marik's voice showed his amazement, "He is!"

A golden aura surrounding the Pharaoh, Atemu let his eyes slide shut as he reached out to the creature depicted on the card in his hand... and his words almost seemed to hold an echo of a world beyond this mortal one as he spoke. "Oh, might protector of the sun, the sky... I beg of thee, please, heed my cry..."

"The Ancient Chant..." Ishizu's gasped in wonder, "...He knows it!"

"...Transform thyself from orb of light... and bring me victory in this fight... I beseech thee, grace our humble game... but first I shall call out thy name!" His eyes flew wide in determination, "WINGED DRAGON OF RA!" Then a blinding light enveloped the field as Atemu held the card above his head before setting it on his duel disk, "Behold! The third Egyptian God!"

Joey spoke what everyone was thinking, "...Now what's Yugi going to do?"

From the light above, a golden orb descended upon the field... and then it slowly began to unlock itself piece by piece. A simultaneous gasp escaped everyone's lips as they watched... and then the floor began to shake beneath them. At first it was only a slight tremble, but, soon, as the Dragon was completely unlocked and it let loose a magnificent cry, it had become a full-out earthquake.

Those around stumbled to catch their balance, some grabbing hold of each other to double their chances of staying on their feet. Pieces of stone began to fall from the ceiling as the entire room groaned in strain, forcing some to cover their heads to protect themselves from the falling debris.

"YUGI!" The Pharaoh cried as he attempted to stay standing, holding up an arm to shield himself from the falling pebbles and dirt. With the clouds of dust that had become unsettled, he could barely see his friend across from him, "Yugi?! A-Are you alright?!"

"P-Pharaoh?" The boy, fallen down to one knee from lost balance, returned above the thunderous noise around them, "Behind you! Look!"

Atemu spun to lay eyes on his God monsters... only for his eyes to widen in disbelief. Clouds of swirling Shadow Magic shifted around the three beasts, expanding out into the room to create...

"No!" The Pharaoh commanded, "This is NOT a Shadow Game! Egyptian Gods, hear me!"

But they did not. Instead, Ra's head slowly turned to lay gaze upon Slifer to its right and, when the red Dragon gave a dark snarl, Ra returned with a monstrous cry that threatened to burst the eardrums of all of those in the room. Atemu had to clamp his hands over his ears, but he was unable to tear his stare away from the three Gods... that had sudden began to act far too alive.

At the outburst of Ra, Slifer shrunk back slightly with its head curved around to let loose a cry of its own at the sun God. Obelisk took a heavy step forward, a movement that made the floor shake worse than it already was, before the blue beast froze as Ra whipped around and screamed at it as well - to which Obelisk returned with a rumbling roar.

That is when it happened. At first it was a mere crack of light that spread across each of the blue orbs held on each of the great beasts' foreheads, one which quickly sealed up again a second after its creation. However, another crack opened up immediately after the first had been sealed and, as the Gods shook their heads and roared in defiance, more light and shadow blasted out through those cracks. Each of the beasts twisted and shivered against that which bound them as one, that which bound them to the Pharaoh... that which held them as mere servants destined to obey their master's call. Then, as all three beasts let loose cries that seemed to shake even the pillars in the room as everyone scrambled to cover their ears, the light and shadow captured beneath each blue orb exploded outward, coating the room in its swirling mixture of corruption and purity, and the blue coating on each orb shattered like glass. When dark and light finally faded, the orbs had become what they had emitted: a creamy-white stone with interlaced black swirls.

Joey stumbled back after the shaking floor made him lose his balance, knocking into Duke as he went, "W-What's happening...?!"

"Watch it!" The black-haired teen snapped as he stumbled backwards himself in attempt to regain his balance... only to land up using Marik to do so as he knocked into the Egyptian.

Though slightly annoyed, the Ishtar let his attention on the Gods waver for a moment to make sure that Duke wouldn't fall over completely. "Alright?" He asked shortly, not expecting or really wanting a response from the black-haired other, before glancing to the one that was holding his own shoulders from behind. "Odion, get Ishizu, we have to get everyone out of here."

"No way!" Tristan shouted from where he and Joey were now making a combined effort to keep their balance, making Odion freeze where he was. "The duel…!"

"No duel is worth the lives of my family!" He snapped right back, "If you want to stay, then, by all means, go right ahead!"

"You know what, Marik?" Joey growled with a single, clenched fist, "You haven't changed at all!"

"Because I won't stand around waiting for my brother and sister to be buried alive?! Fine, I can live with that if I must!"

"So, you're just going to abandon Atemu and Yugi?!"

Duke glared at the blonde that had knocked into him a minute prior, "No one is abandoning anyone, but Marik IS right! It's getting too dangerous down here!"

"I can't believe you're siding with Marik over Yugi and the Pharaoh!"

"I'm not siding with anyone!"

"Guys, you're not helping anything by snapping at each other!" Tea reminded, her and the rather-silent Ryou helping to keep each other standing.

"You all leave." Yugi's Grandpa, Solomon Muto, spoke determinedly with eyes fixed on the alter at the head of the room. Out of everyone, he seemed to be the steadiest on his feet, "I'll stay here with them."

Tea cringed as a rock fell with a loud CRASH behind her, "We're not leaving you down here alone, Grandpa! We're in this together!"

"Marik," Ishizu called back to her brother in uncertainty, managing to keep steady on her feet not too badly, "What happened when Pharaoh Atemu summoned Ra? Why did...?"

"How should I know?!" Marik snapped back, letting his temper getting the better of him at the present time. "It's not like I've seen the Gods act like this before! Come on, we're getting out before-!"

Suddenly, all the anger of the blonde Egyptian died when his keen stare noticed a chunk of stone fall ajar from the ceiling above his sister's head. Fear gripped his throat as he cried out and sprinted forward... just in time to tackle the female Ishtar to the floor a second before the large rock shattered to pieces where she had been standing.

Glaring back at the rock as though he could kill it by doing that gesture, Marik didn't have the time to say anything before Odion rushed over and crouched down before the two.

"Are you both alright?" His face creased with worry, the eldest Ishtar scanned each over as he spoke in a hurried tongue. "Are you injured?"

Though scrapped somewhat and, not to mention, rattled, Ishizu shook her head as she let her elder brother help her back onto shaky legs. "N-No, I think I'm fine." She murmured.

"Just peachy." Was Marik's retort as he returned to his feet as well.

Kaiba held one arm curled around Mokuba's shoulders as he pulled his younger sibling closer to him, "This is ridiculous! We'll be buried alive!" He threw a glare to the others, "We have to get out of here, NOW!"

"NO!" Joey yelled straight back, pointing at the CEO directly, "Not until Yugi and the Pharaoh can come too!"

"Be sensible for once in your life, Wheeler!"

"HAVE A CONSCIENCE FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, KAIBA!"

The room almost-completely engulfed in Shadows, the bickering between the three Gods only seemed to worsen with the change of their orbs as their cries became the snapping of jaws and the threatening gestures of mighty fists. It was surreal... and oddly familiar to the mind of the Pharaoh. He couldn't remember ever witnessing the Gods acting like this, but he could feel something gnawing at him from the back of his mind, hidden deep within memories almost-faded... but Atemu was snapped back to reality as a pain ignited at his temples.

Frantically pushing that aside, the Pharaoh attempted to reassert himself. "PLEASE, GODS OF EGYPT, LISTEN TO ME! Return to the Shadows this instant! I, Pharaoh Atemu, command you back!" Removing the three cards from his duel disk, he practically threw them into his card graveyard... but nothing happened. "Slifer, Obelisk, Ra! LISTEN TO ME, PLEASE! Leave this world at once and return to the Shadow Realm!"

Desperately, the Pharaoh reached out for the power of the Millennium Puzzle that still rested within the Stone with the rest of the Items... only to suddenly find the heads of all three Gods snapping around towards him. Atemu froze as growls rose from Ra and Obelisk... but not Slifer. Curling its massive body around, the red beast placed itself between the Pharaoh and the two others before letting loose a fierce cry that only seem to make the other two angrier.

"UGH!"

The Pharaoh threw his gaze over his shoulder to his hikari... just in time to watch him collapse to the floor after being struck over the head by a rock. Atemu cried out with eyes wide in horror as he flew to his hikari's side. As he did, the holograms of the unfinished duel finally faded... but the Gods remained in their snapping and snarling states by their own wills alone.

"Yugi? Yugi, please, can you hear me? Yugi!" Crouched down by the boy's side, the Pharaoh cursed before throwing a dark glare to the three Gods. That glare soon rotated to the large doors that were his only chance at an afterlife, then back to the Gods... but then his eyes softened again when his gaze fell back to his hikari, a sense of regret tied into each orb. "...I'm so sorry, aibou."

"Pharaoh, you must leave this place at once!"

Atemu's head snapped up... to find non-other than Shadi himself working over the Millennium Stone. Each Item was removed as quick as lightning and then, and only then, did the Keeper fly to the side of the hikari and his yami. The Pharaoh matched stares with the other for a mere second before he nodded... and willed his body to fade back into the spirit-state it had been in for so long. A mere second later, Atemu disappeared completely, his soul returning to the Puzzle.

Hurriedly, Shadi placed the center-Item against the body of the fallen boy... and the Pharaoh took control from there. Taking the Puzzle himself, Atemu pushed himself to his feet and sprinted down the steps in front of the alter to where the group was still faithfully waiting even through the savageness of the earthquake.

Kaiba was the first to turn and run for the stairs, dragging his brother along beside him, and Marik had his siblings in a close second place, but no one else needed an invitation to follow anymore. The last to leave the room was, indeed, the Pharaoh himself as he cast a mournful gaze back to where the Gods had began to actually bite at and wrestle with each other, crashing into stone supports as they did. As Atemu watched the supports give way, followed by the ceiling, he knew that his one chance was gone... for good. He would be a spirit trapped between life and death...

))...For all eternity.(( He thought in self-pity... then he turned and ran after the others.

The stairs took much longed to climb than they did to descend, but, eventually, the entire group came rushing out of the underground shrine and into the light of day. They hadn't even been able to stop before a mocking rumble echoed from the depths of the stairwell and a blast of dust burst from the mouth of the shrine to envelope everyone near... then there was silence.

Well, silence except for the raging coughing-fits everyone was having.

"W-Wha... w-what h-ha-ppened... m-man?" Joey choked out eventually, "W-Why...?"

Atemu just shook his head as he coughed into a clenched fist, his other hand tightly clutching his Millennium Puzzle against his body. He had no answer for any of them, so, instead of speaking, he threw a spiteful glare to the Item in his clutches.

))It should have been called the Millennium Prison! This... this THING has done nothing but torment me ever since I received it. I was supposed to be able to control this Item, but, instead, it controlled ME! It hid all the answers to my questions and mockingly made me wander around in circles within its maze, allowing me to torture myself as I set off trap after trap. All I had wanted was answers... and it took BAKURA, of all people, to help me get them. My own Item wouldn't give me that, but my greatest enemy would and did.(( He scowled, ))...How ironic is that?((

As the dust settled, Shadi was the first one to step up to the doors of the shrine where the open doors now only revealed a few stairs leading down before the passageway was sealed by rocks. His dark orbs narrowing, he allowed his gaze to fall to the Items he cradled in his arms. He could practically feel the confusion that emitted off of each Item, for the spirits were bound to be completely lost as per these recent events. A moment ago they had been anticipating their final rest... and Shadi wasn't exactly sure how some of them would handle this disappointment.

Deciding to handle that later, Shadi's gaze returned to the shrine, "The Gods... have returned to the Shadow Realm." The Keeper began slowly, his voice holding its usual dominant tone that brought the attention of most onto him, "They have broken their bond with the Pharaoh..." Stiffly, Shadi turned to the one he had named to find him looking rather lost in his own thoughts, his eyes staring at the Puzzle in his hands and nothing more. For the knowledge of the other's present, the Keeper turned fully to the rest of the group before continuing. "It is a mystery as to why. I have never read of such events as this before."

"Could that have been the ritual rejecting the Pharaoh?" Marik asked as he slapped the dust off his clothes, only for his frown to then deepen as he remembered that the Keeper had appeared out of nowhere. "Where the Hell did you come from, anyway?"

Shadi's head lowered as a small smile came to his lips, "I felt the imbalance, of course. I came to serve and protect the Items... and my Pharaoh."

"...Ah."

"As per your first inquiry, I find such a thing unlikely, but I suppose that it is possible that this was not the proper time for the Pharaoh to move on and thus this paradox occurred to seize his attempts."

"Hey, that isn't fair!" Duke shot straight back without hesitation.

"Since when is anything in life or death 'fair'?" Marik inquired back with a light glare set against that of emerald, "Fate is what it is."

"Fate is the word for something that someone's too afraid to change!" He responded right away, "We each have control over our own lives. Point blank."

The Ishtar's gaze fell slightly, "…I hope you're right, but the record of history has been proving otherwise. For one example of the hundreds we've confronted, think of the rivalry between Atemu and Seth… then Yugi and Kaiba. That is not chance."

"So, what are you saying?" Tristan growled, "That the Pharaoh's stuck here?!"

A glare relit in lavender orbs, "Well, it would certainly seem so. There has always been a wall preventing the Pharaoh from finding what he sought. By Ra, his own Item fought to hold his memories, thus his name, from his knowledge! Atemu had purposely lost his name to seal Zork, maybe that's a sign in itself that he's not meant to move on at all... ever!"

"Screw the name!" Joey shouted back, "Before he was 'Atemu', he was 'Yami'! He's the same guy, so what does it matter what people call him?" He turned to Tea, "What's that line there about the rose?"

Marik chuckled slightly, a smirk placed on his lips as his eyes narrowed in keen challenge, "A name is more than a name, Wheeler: A name is the first gift we receive in life. A man without a name bears a horrible curse in his wake and will not be permitted to enter the afterlife. One must know who you are in order to properly introduce yourself to the Gods, not being able to do so would be a grave display of disrespect onto them."

Tristan growled, "Damn, you'd think saving the world time and time again would count for something! Or do these rules of yours not have exceptions?!"

"They aren't my rules, you fool! They are the customs of our people and the ways of our Gods! Do not make the mistake of challenging their will or I'll assure you that you will live to regret it!"

"Please, everyone, this is not the time to argue like this." Ryou attempted to reason, speaking for once instead of hiding in the background like he usually preferred to do. "It won't help anyone."

"Well, it doesn't seem like anything we've done today will help anyone." Marik shot back to the timid boy, making Ryou flinch quite visibly, "In fact, I think today could be what one calls a step BACKWARDS."

Eyes narrowed, Grandpa pointed a stubby finger at the blonde, "Watch your tone. Ryou didn't do anything to deserve a retort like that."

Marik sighed but did mutter some form of apology to the white-haired other, to which Ryou quickly accepted with a blush of embarrassment rising over his features. In all honesty, the blonde really hadn't meant to snap at the old Ring-Bearer, it was Joey that had pissed Marik off. It was something Wheeler could do quite easily, actually.

Shadi's eyes narrowed slightly in thought, "Marik is correct: A name is the most important possession one can hold. It is said that, during the death of the body, the spirit forgets his or her first gift. It is only by looking upon their own face that they are able to remember their name and to properly move on to the afterlife. It may take days for a spirit to find their body once they are divided by mortality... or it may take years, it all depends on the being. That is why a sarcophagus is made to mirror the face of the deceased and to preserve the body within: So they may recognize themselves and remember who they were."

"Of course, but the spirits of the Items are different." Ishizu responded, "They did not die. Instead, they were captured between life and death by their Items, forced to bear an existence on neither side of the divide. The Pharaoh sealed his own name away to prevent Zork from returning, but the others never had to make such a sacrifice... which would be why they remembered most of their lives."

"Indeed."

Joey suddenly stepped forward with one fist clenched at Shadi, "Come on, Shadi, Atemu WANTS to move on! This was his chance! You're not gonna stand there and say he can't, are you?!"

"Ya!" Taylor agreed with the same amount of enthusiasm as Wheeler, "Hasn't the Pharaoh done enough already to be able to move on when he feels he's ready?! It's been over three thousand years for crying out loud!"

Shadi merely shook his head, "I am sorry, my friends, but we cannot deny what has just occurred. After that cave in, it may take years of careful excavation to once again uncover the Millennium Stone... if it can be uncovered at all."

Tea, having kept to herself up 'til now, rose her voice just loud enough to be heard, "...What do you mean?" She asked timidly.

Shadi turned his stare to the brunette, "I fear that the Pharaoh and the others may be left in their solitude... indefinitely."

Yami's eyes fell shut as his free hand balled into a fist and his other hand clutched the Puzzle so tightly his knuckles turned white, trying his best to force the words of the Keeper out his mind... they were simply too painful accept. This had been his chance, his ONLY chance, to finally rest after so many years of inner-torment. Of course, this did mean that he could now stay with his friends... but not even Yugi could comprehend what it was like to have lived in complete solitude for so long.

No one in this world could possibly understand the scars such a thing left on a soul, cut off from the living like he was... it was Hell. However, Yugi, unlike him, was still a mortal and would eventually pass-away, so, eventually, Atemu would be forced to return to the darkness of his Item... and remain there for Ra only knows how long. He wouldn't go through that again, he just couldn't... his sanity wouldn't survive another three-thousand years of solitude.

))...What do I do now?((

Suddenly, a light groan came from the depths of his mind before Yugi's weary voice came forward, ((Oh... A-Atemu? Wha... what happened?))

The Pharaoh took a moment to respond, choosing his words carefully, ))We are one again, Yugi... the Puzzle is still yours. Are... are you alright?((

((I... I think so.))

))Good... do you think you can take over?((

As the Pharaoh was preoccupied, he didn't come to notice the stares that were slowly falling upon him. Some held pity in their orbs, some looked intrigued or concerned, but only one was trying to hide her heart's joy.

'I shouldn't be feeling this way.' Tea scolded herself firmly, 'The Pharaoh is probably devastated... and I feel...' She shook her head as though to clear her thoughts before focusing her stare upon the downcast face of Atemu. 'How can I be so selfish? I shouldn't be happy that he's stuck here, I should be sad for him... I should be...' Her eyes fell, '...But all I feel is relief.'

As everyone else stayed back, Joey took an unsure step toward the tri-haired other, "Hey, Pharaoh, talk to us, man. You okay?"

"Don't you worry about this, Atemu," Duke assured from where he stood, "We'll figure this out."

"I'm sure there's a way." Ishizu offered, her stare turning to Shadi pleadingly, "Right?" But her heart dropped when the Keeper merely averted his gaze from hers without a single word uttered.

Marik sighed, "There's always a way... and we'll find it, Pharaoh. We just need some more time."

Ryou's gaze fell, "...I think he's waited long enough."

The blonde-haired Egyptian glared at the white-haired other, but then flipped his stare to Odion on his other side, "How long 'til we can get diggers here?"

The eldest Ishtar frowned slightly, "A few days, at most... after that, all we can do is hope for the best that the shrine is stable enough to reopen."

Joey's frown deepened as he stared unwaveringly at the silent Pharaoh, "Seriously, man, you're starting to worry us... say something!"

However, the soft glow of the Puzzle indicated for all a swap in control... and, soon enough, Yugi turned his tired stare to the group. The young boy scanned everyone present, blinking slightly when he saw Shadi, but really not all that surprised about it. He knew everyone was waiting for him to say something, but, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of anything. What does someone say after their friend has been refused peace of soul?

"Yug, you okay, man?" The blonde put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "How's your head?"

"I'll be fine." Yugi responded quietly, "I... I guess... we should head back to the hotel." He offered, wanting SO badly to get the spotlight off of him.

Kaiba scowled, arms crossed firmly over his chest, "What a waste of time."

"Poor guy." Mokuba spoke to his brother, ignoring the other's actual comment, "The Pharaoh must be really broken-up about this. With that cave-in, the chances of getting back down into that Shrine are slim to none."

The CEO shrugged, "He'll get over it. At least, now, I'll get my rematch against the real-deal and not some carbon-copy."

Although many lashed at the cold other with drop-dead glares, Yugi didn't even flinch. Instead, he tossed a genuine smile to the CEO, "You're not fooling anyone with your tough-guy act, Kaiba. You're just as much a part of the gang now as I am." Then, not letting anyone respond, he turned to Ishizu, "Let's head back. There isn't anything we can do here anyway."

City of Cairo, Hotel

It had been a rather uncomfortable ride back to the hotel and that tension didn't fade once everyone had returned to their rooms. Day turned to evening, evening turned to night, and, soon enough, most of the group had retired to their beds... but that didn't necessarily mean they were sleeping. Some resided to tossing and turning amongst their sheets, but others could bear it no longer and had risen to go for a walk.

Tea Gardner was one of these people.

Eyes downcast, Tea walked quietly down the hallways in her pink pajamas, pink slippers, and a pale blue nightgown. Arms curled around herself in comfort, she struggled against the ache in her heart. She wanted so badly to go to Yugi's room to speak with Atemu... and tell him how happy she was that he was still here with them... with her. She wanted to tell him how she didn't want him to leave... that... that she might be in love with him... but she knew it was a foolish idea. After all, he was a three-thousand year old Pharaoh who possessed the body of her friend... and she was... a teenager in the middle-years of high school. The fairy-tale ending she wanted would only happen in some romance novel... never in real life.

Then there was Yugi... who she wasn't exactly sure how she felt about him. Sometimes, she did feel as though she felt for him as more than just a best-friend, then, sometimes, she felt that way towards Atemu. They both had aspects about them that she admired... and, surprisingly, it wasn't the same characteristics in each.

She had always loved the vigor in Yugi. He was always so sweet and compassionate, even to those who didn't deserve it. She couldn't think of one time where he had been unable to find the light in the darkness, even if he had to (unknowingly) make it himself. He had always been the compass of the group, keeping the rest of them on track, making them better people... all without even realizing it. He was completely selfless, willing to do anything and everything to keep those he loved safe.

Atemu was different to her, she loved his maturity and confidence. He was such a breath of fresh air, especially after dealing with Joey and Tristan for a few hours. His level of insight always amazed her, as did his cunning ability to set himself as the backbone of the group. He was the support that kept them standing tall in difficult times, giving them strength even if he didn't have any left for himself.

Giving a wistful sigh, Tea pulled her nightgown around her further as she walked along, buried deep into her own thoughts. She was stuck in a wannabe-love-triangle. She did like Atemu and she knew that Yugi liked her... and Yugi and Atemu were as close to one another as brothers. At that thought, she couldn't help but give a bitter smirk. She was the girl who hung around the cute, little brother to just catch a glimpse of the hot, older brother... and it made her sick to be that kind of girl. However, all she had to do was think of the look Yugi had given her back at the shrine... and she knew without a doubt that that is exactly what she had become.

"_We all know how you feel, Tea..."_

"Tea?"

Said girl stumbled to a stop with a decent lack of grace. Her eyes snapping up, she was suddenly forced to notice non-other than her tri-haired friend himself standing just outside his door in his pale-blue pajamas. He had obviously just come out of his room as his hand was still lingering on the doorknob of the partly-closed door, but now it seemed as though he was thinking of heading back inside.

She forced a smile forward, "Hi, Yugi... couldn't sleep?"

He looked at her, each of his orbs holding a deep sadness that he couldn't hope to hide, "...You came to see him, didn't you?"

Tea hesitated before shaking her head, "I, um, I was just going for a walk..."

"I-It's okay," The boy gave a faltering smile, one which she had seen on him more than once over the past few months, "It's okay, Tea, r-really. You... I..." He paused over his stumbling tongue, only to then shrug in frustration over it. "I'll let him take over..."

Before the girl could say a word to stop him, a soft glow emitted from the Millennium Puzzle around his neck (now back on its chain) and the boy's hair shifted slightly. In a matter of seconds, dark eyes snapped open as the glow of the Item faded and the keen stare of an ancient Pharaoh focused on the brunette standing in the hall with him. Atemu suppressed a sigh as he finished Yugi's task of closing the door behind him, then he turned to the girl completely, obviously waiting for her to start things off.

The only problem was that Tea didn't know what the Hell she was supposed to say. After all, she had stumbled (literally) into this and she hadn't really sorted out her words... now she would just have to sink or swim.

"W-Would... would you like to... go for a walk?" The girl suggested while trying to hide the blush on her cheeks.

Atemu hesitated before nodding, "Alright."

The two walked in silence for the longest time, merely trailing through the halls of the hotel with no really decision put into their destination. As the Pharaoh appeared lost in his own thoughts, Tea used this time to organize her own thoughts and feelings... but she knew she couldn't stall forever. Slowly, she turned her gaze to him and noticed how Yugi's pajamas didn't suit him at all... which was sort of weird considering they looked so much alike. However, she could also reason, that their similarities were only skin-deep and that their souls were as opposite as light to darkness.

"...I'm sorry that the ritual didn't work, Atemu." She began, mentally patting herself on the back. After all, that was a very good place to start.

His gaze didn't lift from where he stared at the floorboards as they passed under him, "...Please, just call me 'Yami.' I know my old name now, a fact that I'm overjoyed to finally grasp, but... it doesn't feel right in this time. I've been 'Yami' for so long now... it feels wrong to throw that name away to be replaced by one I abandoned thousands of years ago."

"Sure, Yami." She quickly nodded, only to then find herself at a dead end, "Um... don't worry though, I'm sure we'll find a way so that you can move on. Now that Shadi is here too, I'm sure he and the Ishtars can think of something, right?"

He closed his eyes lightly, "I highly doubt such a way exists, Tea. The Millennium Stone was my only chance to cross the divide to the next life... and now it is buried."

The brunette frowned, "...What do you plan to do?"

"What can I do?" He responded without hesitation, but there was no anger in his tone... actually, it held very little emotion at all. "I will continue to exist in the Puzzle until it is destroyed, which is a high improbability, and I will continue to protect Yugi and all of you the best I can from any danger that arises. I'll just keep going like I always have... but I know it'll be... different... now that you're all growing up."

She tried to smile, "Yami, we're not going to let you fade out of our day-to-day lives just because we're growing older... you'll always be part of the gang."

"No, Tea, I won't be." The Pharaoh returned immediately, his eyes opening to focus on the girl he walked with, "As you will each age with every passing year, I will not. I will remain as I am for eternity - it's simply how it is. I'm immortal... you and the others are not." He stopped by a window, letting the moonlight catch both their forms to give them each a ghostly-glow. "You each have lives to live, Tea. You'll eventually come to outgrow Duel Monsters, you'll journey out into the world to achieve your dreams..." His eyes grew softer, letting warmth spread in each orb for her to see and take comfort in. "You'll gain a family of your own - husbands and wives, children and grandchildren - until you must make the crossing that I can't to the afterlife."

The ache in Tea's heart grew, "Yami..."

"My ability to partake in the world relies solely on Yugi... who is also steadily growing older." The Pharaoh gave a small smile, "He's changed since I first joined him, relying on my confidence and my strength less and less until, now, he has his own. It won't be long until he won't need me at all."

((Yami, that's not true!))

Tea's eyes drew wider, "That's not true, Yugi will always cherish the connection he has with you."

"At the moment, yes, he does... but he won't forever. As he grows older, the Puzzle will only be a burden to him more and more. Do you honestly think that any adult would want to be bothered by a piece of jewelry and an old spirit when they're attempting to look after their wife and children? I'll only be a distraction for him by the end. I never wanted to become a burden on him, never wanted to interfere in his life, but it seems as though that fate is unavoidable now."

Tea found herself speechless... probably for the first time in her life, actually. She had never thought about it like that. True, the Pharaoh's words held a bit more brutality than what would probably come to pass in reality, but the logic was firm.

He locked eyes with his friend, serious as ever, as he decided to confront what she seemed to be tip-toeing around. "You must let your heart move onto someone else, Tea. I cannot - will not - be what you want me to be. I'm a spirit... and spirits don't have bodies of their own. We possess the bodies of others... that is the only way we can interact in the world. I will not ask or let Yugi forfeit his life so I may be able to gain one, he doesn't deserve to be locked out of his own body." His eyes narrowed, "That would be the main difference between that thief, Bakura, and I: I care for and value my hikari, I respect him... and I would never do anything to hurt him. I know I failed in the last regard in the past, but I'm making certain to never do that again. I'm sorry, Tea." Inwardly, Yami smirked, ))Not to mention YOU'RE the one who's rather obviously head-over-heels for this girl, aibou.((

((Don't you dare tell her that!)) Yugi shouted right back in a tone that made you practically feel the blush on his face.

In his mind, he couldn't hold back a small chuckle, ))Don't worry, I'll leave that to your regard.((

((...Thank you, Yami.))

Tea's eyes fell from his, but she nodded. She had known that this would be his answer... it was the reason why she hadn't really wanted to talk to him tonight. However, in complete 'Yami-style', he didn't even tell her what he really felt for her... he simply said that he shouldn't, couldn't, and wouldn't. End of story.

The Pharaoh's gaze shifted to lay gaze upon the Egyptian city framed by the window, "...Where does the time go?" He wondered as he turned to lean on the windowsill, obviously picking-up from a thought that had crossed his mind. "I remember Yugi so young when he completed the Puzzle... not physically young, but mentally. Now, he is as wise in his years as I am." His gaze went to Tea as she hesitantly leaned on the windowsill beside him, showing her the small smile on his lips. "It was well-worth the years of solitude just to be able to see what I sacrificed my life for. Agreeably, not all those walking the planet are good, but there are just as many who are so pure of heart that they shine."

Shine was just the perfect way to put it. Each of his friends just had their own kind of glow, not one duplicating another as each gave off a sort of radiance that was as individualized as the person. Yugi he'd always imagined as a pure-white glow edged, perhaps, in a bright yellow, Joey as an orange one with flecks of red and yellow, Tristan as an equal-mix of an green and yellow, Duke as red spiked in dark green, Kaiba as an ice-blue with flickers of purple, Tea as pink with white swirls...

She blinked repeatedly, attempting to hold back the tears that stung at her eyes, "I..." She bit her lip and shifted her gaze to the distant sands, "...I'm sorry, Yami."

He looked at her, "For what?"

"...Being oblivious?" She offered with a forced smile that quickly died anyway, "I... I was... hoping... b-before... that you'd be able to stay with us... somehow... and it l-looks like... s-someone granted my wish." She didn't dare look at him as tears began to trace down her cheeks, picturing him in her mind as completely furious. "I-I'm so sorry, Yami. After everything you've done... I... I should have been praying for your safe journey... not for your only hope of moving on to be cr-ushed." When her voice broke, she paused to collect herself slightly before continuing, but her tears kept showing themselves in her trembling voice. "I... I've been so selfish... and I w-wish I could take it back. I'd... give anything to take it back. I... I'll understand if you can't forgive me." Suddenly, she found his hand wrapping around her's and, when she jolted her stare to his, she found a smile attempting to cover his inner-sadness. "Y-Yami?"

"Of course, I forgive you, as if such a thing was even in question." Still leaning on the window-ledge, he gave her hand a small squeeze before releasing it and turning back to stare off into the night. "I can't blame you, Tea, and I won't let you blame yourself either. It was I who summoned the last of the Egyptian Gods and it was I who lost control over them. No part of that is on your shoulders. Call it choice or fate, but either way it is what it is. My purpose here obviously isn't through..." He gave a sigh, "...As if that was even in question."

**END CHAPTER**

Okay, so that's the Prologue, now, let's get into this story for REAL! Onward to Chapter One!

ACK! I HATE TEA! XP Why oh why did I torture myself with attempting to deal with her... personality? I hate her... but I especially hate her paired with Yami for the soul reason that he's a fairly 'untouchable' kinda person... not to mention he deserves better. I find it hard to pair him with anyone... well, I kinda like MaixYami but even that is a bit of a stretch and I don't think I'd ever write it. Anyway, the scene did accomplish a lot: got a lot of information out that I wanted... so, I'm fairly happy with it.

The Egyptian God thing DOES have a reason - both with the shattering of the orbs and turning against the Pharaoh. It's not random, it's strategic... read on to find out more!

My Favorite Part: Yami breaking Tea's heart! XP Actually, I like the very beginning best before Yami even summons Ra. I'm horrible at beginnings, so to get one that I actually like is special.

Please review! Flames or flowers, I'll accept either! :)


	2. A Fool’s Paradise

**Chapter One: A Fool's Paradise**

Greetings mighty readers of the world wide web! Fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! Critics of my writing! Savage amazons that'll make little voo-doo dolls of me if I take too long to update! ...Cheers to self-torture! Here's chapter one of my confusing, little fanfic! XD

_**Quote of the Chapter: **__The shaft of an arrow had been feathered with one of the eagle's own plumes. We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction. _(Aesop)

_**Song of the Chapter: **__More Than Useless _(Reliant K)

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own YGO because, if I did, one of the rules of dueling would be that you couldn't wear a shirt! ;D_

**ABOUT ONE YEAR LATER**

Domino City, Domino High School, History Class

A tri-haired boy sat tensely in his chair hunched over his school desk and the multiple pages of paper that were laid in a stapled stack upon it. The class was in dead-silence saver the scraping of pencils and pens on paper, accompanied - at times - by the odd curse of which the owner would then receive a stiff glare from the teacher at her desk. The clock on the wall ticked away the seconds left to complete the test... one which, Yugi might add, was a complete killer.

As he reread the same question an eighth time, trying to get something in the sentence to spark a recollection, Yugi had to hold in his own curse that immediately spurred an amused chuckle from another in his mind. Already annoyed by the test that he was barely half-way through with less than a quarter of a class-period left, the tri-haired boy couldn't help but be a little snippy through his mind-link.

((I'm glad my failing this test is amusing you.)) Yugi groaned as he erased a piece of what he had written, ((A little help here?))

))Sorry, aibou, but this is your test, not mine.((

((Oh, go get lost in your soulroom.)) He replied back with a pout that you could hear in his tone, sparking another small chuckle from the other. ((Come on, Yami, I'm serious! 'What was the name of the treaty signed by Germany at the end of World War One and what were its conditions?' Come on! I know it starts with a 'V' but I can't remember it! Drop me a clue, a hint... anything!))

))What makes you think I'd know it?((

((Because you're you; because I can tell which classes you pay attention to and which classes you zone-out in; because of a lot of things. Please, Yami? Just this once?))

))Hn... why not move on to another question? Perhaps you'll remember the answer to this one later.((

Yugi just groaned and did as the other recommended. He may lose ten marks on that question, but if he could answer three of the four-point questions, then he was ahead... sort of. Anyway, all he had to do was get fifty-percent at the very least, then he would be fine... and his Grandpa would only semi-kill him.

((Why didn't I study last night?)) He groaned.

))Because Tea asked you to the movies and she doesn't have this class.((

((...You're not helping.))

Yugi sighed and put his chin in his hand with his elbow propped-up on his desk. He knew that he shouldn't have gone out... but TEA had asked HIM out and there was no way in Hell that he was going to say no. She had even kind of hinted at the idea of leaving the Puzzle at home so it was just the two of them - nothing direct, but hinting - and Yami had agreed. The Puzzle had spent the night hanging around the neck of Solomon Muto and Yami spent his time protecting the old man from the magic of the Item since he really wasn't supposed to have it on - just keep an eye on it - but Solomon "Couldn't resist." The Puzzle didn't appreciate being worn by someone else, but Yami kept tabs on it and even had a bit of a conversation with Yugi's Grandpa. It was 'a bit' of a conversation because Solomon did most of the talking. It really wasn't that hard to protect the elder man, more of a hassle, but Yami didn't mind at all… especially when Yugi had come home with a smile beaming from ear to ear.

When Yugi had taken back the Puzzle, Yami soon realized why his hikari was practically hovering... Tea had kissed him when he had walked her home. Just on the cheek, but it was enough to make Yugi the happiest person in the city... until this test, anyway.

Annoyed, the tri-haired boy glanced to his right to where Joey was gnawing on a pencil, then to his left where Duke was filling out answers with one hand and twirling a piece of hair with his other. Tristan was in front of Joey and seemed to be getting closer and closer to collapsing onto his desk and Ryou was a desk or two behind them in the back row looking... different.

Yugi's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared over his shoulder to the white-haired boy hunched over his desk in a way that made it hard to see his face. He was sure that his hair was different than it usually was - showing a bit of a devilish-spike to each lock - but it couldn't be. Bakura wouldn't take control in the middle of school, he had no reason to... did he? It was no mystery that the Tomb Robber was still on his mission to destroy the Pharaoh but, since his sudden but expected return from the Shadow Realm, he hadn't really tried anything huge. Sure, there had been thousands of threats and a few half-hearted attempts to snatch the Puzzle... but nothing really of great concern. Now he was suddenly taking control at school DURING a test? It didn't make sense. What would he get out of that?

((Maybe it IS Ryou.)) Yugi suggest, but then, no sooner had he said that, the white-haired other leaned back in his chair. ((...Or it's Bakura.))

Dark, hazel eyes were staring at the pieces of paper on the desk in concentration as his hand came forward again and jotted something down on the test sheet. He didn't even seem to notice Yugi staring at him and the boy decided to keep it that way for the moment as he quickly turned back around in his seat.

((...What do you think he's writing down?))

Yami gave a near-silent sigh, ))Perhaps a plan of some sort that he doesn't want to forget. I wouldn't put it past him to put his obsession with the Items over his own hikari's education.((

Yugi nodded, ((Well, if he thinks he can sneak around under our noses, he's wrong. I'm going to get a look.))

))Yugi, that may not be–((

"Mrs. Koi?" He spoke in a hoarse voice as he raised his hand, "May I get a drink of water?" And he proceeded to add-on a cough or two for effect.

The teacher nodded, "Don't be long."

Rising slowly from his seat, Yugi avoided the stares of his friends as he turned toward the door at the back of the class... choosing his path so he could breeze right past the Tomb Robber. At Yugi's approach, the other didn't even raise one of his famous glares to the boy - actually, it was quite the opposite. Bakura simply leaned back in his seat comfortably, eyes shut lightly, with a smug smirk on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. It was almost as though he was daring the Puzzle-Bearer to make a scene.

When Yugi came beside the desk, his eyes skimmed over the paper... and he couldn't help but freeze in disbelief. Answers. Every question had a perfectly-written - perfectly-fluent-Japanese - answer... no plots, no doodles of him killing the Pharaoh... just... answers. Yugi's jaw drew slack as he tried to piece this together... when a voice came from the smug figure beside him. It was a poor imitation of Ryou's voice as far as Yugi was concerned, but it seemed to work for everyone else.

"Someone is feeling quite bold today." Bakura commented loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the room, his smirk merely growing more and more as his eyes opened to focus on the boy. "If you wanted the answers so badly that you'd be willing to stand like a statue beside my desk in order to memorize them, I might as well just give you my paper to copy from."

Yugi's cheeks beamed red, "I... uh..."

"Take it if you want it that badly, oh, King-of-Games-who-can't-even-complete-a-simple-history-test." He practically threw the paper at the boy, "I'm done anyway."

"Y-YOU'RE done?!"

Suddenly, a cold voice cut from the front of the class, "Yugi Muto."

Picking his jaw up from the floor, the tri-haired boy's gaze flew to the teacher who was giving him a very cold eye. "Uh... ya?" And, he also noticed, he had successfully gained the attention of practically everyone in the room.

"Stay after class," Her pink-hued eyes narrowed, "I want to speak to you. Now, return to your desk and give Ryou back his sheet."

"I... I wasn't cheating, Mrs. Koi. I wouldn't. I was just walking by..."

"Oh, of course," Bakura responded without so much as a hesitation, "And THAT'S why your scratchy-throat seems to have cleared up all on its own, hn?"

Throwing a glare to the smirking Bakura, Yugi practically threw the test sheet back at the Tomb Robber - really uncaring of how it made him look like a little kid on the verge of a tantrum - and quickly retook his seat. Practically feeling the pleased stare of the Tomb Robber burning into the back of his head, Yugi had to force himself to concentrate on his test as he grew more and more conscious of the mocking tick-tick-tick of the clock. He was running out of time and he still had a lot of questions left to answer... some of which weren't part of the test.

((Bakura's done and I'm not even half-way through... this sucks. On top of that, I'm probably going to get marks deducted for cheating when I wasn't... that's IF I can get her to not just rip up my test.)) The Muto sighed heavily, ((...I could really use your help, Yami.))

There was a slight pause, then the Pharaoh gave a sigh, ))It was the Treaty of Versailles. That's V-E-R...((

At the end of class, Yugi had stayed for over ten minutes listening to the lecture the teacher had prepared for him. She had even threatened to get his Grandpa involved in the matter, but settled for just cutting whatever his mark on the test was by fifty percent... and he had had to beg her to be merciful and only take off that much - she had wanted to give him a zero! He also managed to escape detentions as this was his "first offence."

He didn't see Ryou for the remainder of the day, probably because the other was avoiding him at all costs, but Yugi was more determined than ever as he left the school at the end of the day. Easily picking out the white head of hair amongst the crowd, the Puzzle-Bearer made a straight beeline for the taller boy.

"H-Hey, Ryou! Ryou, wait up!"

Named boy immediately stiffened at his name as he sent a weary glance over his shoulder to his friend that was running up to catch up with him. A blush spreading over his pale cheeks, Ryou gave a shaky smile as the tri-haired boy approached.

"H-Hello, Yugi," He greeted quickly, "I'm sorry, I, uh, I can't talk. I have a lot of chores to do at home and..."

"Ryou," The Puzzle-Bearer gave a concerned look to the British boy, "W-What..." Yugi threw a paranoid glance over his shoulders to make sure no one was in ear-shot. Of course, no one was because they were all on their way home. "What happened in history class today? Did... did Bakura hurt you so he could take over?"

The boy's frown dipped deeper, "N-No, of course not."

"But... he was out, I saw him..." Yugi gave what might have been an annoyed pout, "And he effectively managed to get me in trouble with the teacher too."

"Oh..."

))Yugi, offer our help. Ryou has always feared Bakura, he may be reluctant to actually come out and ask.((

((Uh, sure.)) Yugi bit his lip slightly, "You know that, uh, Yami and I are here for you if you ever need us... right?"

"Um, yes, of course... but everything's okay, Yugi, really." The English boy came forward with a small smile, "I'm fine... my yami and I are fine."

Yugi's eyes widened, ((His 'yami'? Since when does Ryou refer to that Thief as his 'yami'?))

The Ring-Bearer gave a slight sigh, knowing the other wasn't going to let-up without some form of explanation, so he simply decided to get it over with. "To be frank, I'm not very good in history class - I tend to get confused by all the names and dates - so, instead of letting me struggle day-in and day-out, Bakura does it for me - has been for quite a few months now. He's actually quite good at it, top of the class. He seems to enjoy learning about what he missed over the years he was locked away."

The Thief growled in the boy's mind, not needing words to show his hikari that he didn't appreciate being made out to be some kind of nerd or whimp. There was a great degree of truth behind the British boy's words, but, apparently, Bakura didn't think that it needed to be stated... least of all to the brat of the Pharaoh.

Ryou bit his lip slightly, "He says it's... intriguing."

Yugi quirked a brow, "'Intriguing'?"

"That's... one of the words he used for it." He said while giving a meek smile, ((I believe the others were informative and inspiring?))

))Don't forget cunningly diabolical.((

"C-Can I ask a favor of you, Yugi?" Ryou asked hesitantly, "A-And the Pharaoh?"

The boy smiled, "Of course, anything."

"C-Could you... p-possibly..." The white-haired hikari scratched the back of head, "...Leave Bakura alone? P-Please...?" When Yugi's stare went completely blank, Ryou gave a nervous laugh, "I-It's just that... he hasn't been doing anything wrong a-and I... I mean, it w-would mean a lot to me if you just... didn't... bother him?"

"You're serious?" The Muto blinked and, when the other nodded, Yugi took on a desperate look, "But, Ryou, are you sure? I mean, he did put you into a coma for a week after he returned from the Shadow Realm…"

"No, he didn't..." But he immediately gave up, knowing it to be useless to argue.

To them, Bakura would always be the evil Tomb Robber of the Ring, there would be no escaping that title... not that the yami cared. The Thief was more than comfortable being the three-thousand year-old headache for the Pharaoh and he had made it known to Ryou on more than one occasion that if the boy ever told anyone Bakura was "softening-up," he'd flat-out strangle him. Of course, that wasn't to say that he had lost his edge. The Tomb Robber was still as cunning and devilish as ever, spending the majority of his time analyzing his enemies... and this new world that he was being forced to deal with more and more.

Yugi continued on, "It's great that he's helping you out at school and everything, but... are you... sure about this?"

Bakura growled at the short boy his hikari was being forced to deal with, ))Do you want me to handle this? Confrontations have never been your strongest point.((

((If you wouldn't mind... just...))

))Yes, yes, no homicidal rampages... this era is so incredibly touchy.((

A slight glow emitted from the Ring as Ryou stepped back into his soulroom... and his kind orbs suddenly hardened into a fierce glare. Yugi was able to blink once, then, the next thing he knew, he was dangling off the ground by the collar of his uniform.

"Intervention's over, little Yugi." The Tomb Robber's eyes narrowed, "Harass Ryou like that again and you'll live long enough to know what it feels like to be strangled by your own intestines." Seemly to have checked something off of his mental to-do-list, he smirked, "Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Yugi forced himself not to cringe, "Now, put me down, Bakura!"

"As you wish."

"OOF!"

Bakura merely quirked a brow at the glare he was receiving from the boy who had not expected his demand to be acknowledge and, as a result, was now sitting on his sore butt on the sidewalk. Yugi muttered incoherently to himself, obviously annoyed, as he was sure that he had fallen into a wad of moist gum.

"You would think a savior of the world would have better balance." Bakura commented, mildly amused, and his smirk merely grew as a light emitted from the Puzzle. Letting his eyes slide shut, he grinned as he heard the figure in front of him rise back to their feet. "...And the great Pharaoh graces me with his presence... it's been a while." His gaze lifted to match that of firm crimson, "It's about time you took over. You were shrinking so far back within the runt's mind that I could barely feel you around anymore."

Yami's eyes narrowed against the hazel glare of the most formidable enemy he had ever had to deal with... the very same eyes that had haunted the Pharaoh's footsteps within his own Item for quite a while. During that time, Yami found himself plagued by what he misinterpreted to be the memories of the white-haired lunatic - an apparition that he would see out of the corner of his eye only to turn and see nothing. He could have sworn at the time that he heard chuckling, whispers... the unsheathing of a blade... and, as it turned out, he probably had. It was bad enough to learn that Bakura had inhabited the Puzzle for such a length of time... but, what really pressed on a sore spot for Yami, was the thought of the satisfaction the Tomb Robber must have felt to have so easily made the Pharaoh so paranoid of his own Item... his own SOULROOM, for crying out loud!

Yami stood proudly, pushing the past aside for now, "That's enough, Baku–"

"–I was beginning to think that he had gotten rid of you." The white-haired yami gave a small shrug, "Not that I would blame him. Even I can only tolerate you if given a long space thereafter to recover... the runt has nowhere to run from your crushing ego. Hell, I'm still recovering from sharing the Puzzle with you, why do you think I haven't confronted you again?"

))SHARING?! More like squatted!(( His eyes narrowed in challenge, "Bak–"

"–How long has it been since you've taken over the body? Just curious." His hand went to his chin in thought, "I haven't see you out since that day in the hospital and that was... what? Nine... ten months ago? Maybe more..."

"That's not–"

"–Mind you, I do believe that, before that incident, you hadn't taken over since the whole mess at the shrine. Steller performance, by the way."

He frowned, "How wou–?"

"–I have my ways." He grinned, "I must say though, when you screw up, you don't mess around. They're still trying to dig out the Millennium Stone. Not only that, but the whole affair sent a ripple through the Shadow Realm like you wouldn't believe. A crack opened up, actually, for a split moment in time... and it really wasn't that hard to get through." Bakura shoved his hands in the pockets of his uniform jacket, "I suppose that would be the reason that you've been mopping around in your Item all this time? What's the matter, Pharaoh? Sad that you weren't able to doom me to an eternity of torment and pain, but were actually the one to release me again? ...Or, perhaps, are you still longing for that final resting place amongst the other Pharaohs? Amongst your goodie-two-shoes father?"

Yami almost flinched at that, but 'almost' was enough for Bakura to notice... and laugh at.

"Hit a sore-spot, have I?" The Tomb Robber inquired once he got his cackling under control, a wicked grin on his face, "Pharaoh, you fool! Can't you see that THIS is our fate and there's no way out? Hell, even I have accepted that much... why do you think I still continue my old quest of tormenting you?"

"To be a pain in my side!" Yami snapped... only to sigh in relief as he FINALLY wasn't interrupted.

Bakura quirked a brow, his arms shifting to cross over his chest, "Somebody's cranky."

"What do you expect?" The old Pharaoh returned with narrowing eyes, "You've done nothing but inter–"

"–Don't want to get you monologing, now, do we?" The Tomb Robber cut in rather swiftly once again, "Not only that, but I made the mistake of making a promise to Ryou that I wouldn't kill you idiots. The only way I can insure that is to make sure you don't bug me and, if you don't speak, then–"

"–ENOUGH." Yami interrupted right back with a daggered glare and fists clenched at his sides, having had enough of the other pompous attitude. "You shouldn't even be taking control of Ryou like you are in the first place - you shouldn't be interfering in his life! This is HIS life, not yours! Why do you think I've remained dormant in the Puzzle for months on end?"

"Because you let your runt keep you on a leach?" Bakura's offered, only to then growl, "If I'm doomed to once again be sent into isolation after the death of this mortal body, then I'm damn-well not going to spend this time I have now twiddling my thumbs in my soulroom!"

"And that just proves how arrogant and self-centered you truly are!"

"No, it proves how little of an understanding you have of our situation! Dammit, if I'm condemned to see your ugly face for all eternity than I'm going to have more than one hobby!"

"Taking over the world is NOT a hobby!" The Pharaoh rose a brow, "...Neither is doing your hikari's math tests, for that matter."

"History, moron."

At the door of the school, Marik scowled as he shoved the glass door open, ((SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!)) He screamed inwardly, ((I won't DEAL with this anymore! Do you hear me? I WON'T!)) His hold on the strap of his bag tightened until his knuckles turned white when the bickering just continued, ((For the love of Ra! What did I do to deserve THIS?! Let Ammut feast on my soul instead... at least, then I'll have SILENCE! Both of you, SHUT UP!))

"In any case, who died and made you the undead Pharaoh of the world?" Bakura's eyes rolled to the overcast skies above, "Seriously, your rule was over three-thousand years ago... get over yourself."

Yami crossed his arms over his chest, "You're the one who keeps coming after me."

"Oh, really?" Bakura's eyebrows lifted, "We haven't spoken in months and the only reason we are now is because your runt chased down mine. Tell me, who is chasing whom?"

Marik growled as he, as usual, was being ignored. Turning onto the street, he cast a glance to who he believed to be Yugi and Ryou... only to then stop dead and do a double-take. His eyes widened ever so slightly as he easily recognized the two Egyptians... and, the next thought that entered Marik's mind was not a pleasant one. After all, every confrontation between the Pharaoh and the Tomb Robber seemed to end in a Shadow Duel and that was something the blonde Tomb Keeper just didn't want to deal with right now. He had enough on his plate as it was and he, to be blunt, was getting royally pissed-off with all this ancient-spirit-possessing-my-body crap.

It didn't take long for one crimson glare and one hazel glare to match that of lavender.

"You want something, boy?" Bakura hissed, only to then turn that hiss onto the Pharaoh when the other whacked his arm while saying something about manners that the Tomb Robber didn't quite catch. "Don't touch me, royal filth! You'll infect me with your ignorance!"

"My ignorance pales in comparison to your own, so you have nothing to worry about."

Marik's stare narrowed slightly at the bickering two, "Are you two going to...?" Then he just shook his head, deciding that, if they were going to duke it out AGAIN, he really couldn't care less. "Nevermind." Then he just turned and walked away with the Millennium Rod stuck through one of his belt-loops. ((DON'T EVEN START.))

It had been decided not long after the cave-in at the Shrine that the seven Millennium Items were to be returned to their proper Bearers until the Stone was uncovered. After all, Rex and Weevil - though they had been after the God Cards and not the Items - had made it shockingly clear just how vulnerable the Items were being left in a single place like they had been. So, even to those hesitant to the idea, everyone was forced to once again acknowledge their duty... but one in particular didn't have to for long.

Not long after it became known that Bakura had returned, Pegasus 'lost' the Eye once again... or, more like, he saw the white-haired Tomb Robber and promptly handed it over with no struggle whatsoever. Word was that the man had simply felt too weary mentally, still brittle from his last confrontation with Bakura, and had seen no point in risking his life for a piece of gold that had done nothing but give him false hope from the start. Few blamed him as his logic was enough to make others want to follow suit and just be damned by the whole thing.

Both ancient Egyptians merely watched the modern one leave, then Yami sighed slightly, "Marik had thought he had escaped the crushing burden of carrying an Item... all the hikaris did, but I failed them."

"What a pity." The other responded with eyes turning to the skies above, ))...It's going to rain.((

((The weathermen never gets anything right. We better get home before we're drowned rats.))

A twitch, ))...Was that a jab at my past, Ryou?((

((What? ...Oh. Oh, n-no, no, not at all, Bakura... I hadn't meant–))

))–Forget it.(( Bakura cut off before the other started rambling, but fingers snapping in front of his face suddenly brought the Tomb Robber back to the real world. In no time at all, he had a cold glare set against the Pharaoh's once again, "What the fuck was that about?"

"I asked you a question." Yami replied rather casually, "I asked if you too felt warn by the years of solitude? If you felt... thin?"

"What the Hell kind of question is that?" Bakura growled, "Wait, don't tell me, you're STILL spending your time mopping around your Item dwelling in your past like a pathetic worm... still sobbing like an idiot because things don't always go your way. That's the difference between you and I: You dwell, I obsess, and there is a keen difference. Even now, with your memories unlocked and, thereby, the Puzzle perfectly free for your exploration, you still manage to mope about someth–" The Tomb Robber stopped dead as the other averted his gaze to the school building nearby, "Wait... the Puzzle still isn't unlocked? It's still blocking you?!"

He took a moment to think of how to respond to that, "...It would appear as though–"

"–Interesting." Bakura's grin soon returned but, when the Pharaoh looked back to him, he was staring off down the street, "...VERY interesting."

"Bakura," Yami spoke to get the other's attention back, but all he got was the Tomb Robber staring at him out of the corner of his eye. The words tasted like bile on the Pharaoh's tongue, but he forced them out... actually WANTING the other's opinion for once. "What... do you think this could mean? You've studied the Items for thousands of years, by all rights you must have some vague idea of how they work. You've seen for yourself how I've tried to make the Puzzle respond to my demands, but my struggles were – are – always in vain. I'm... curious... as to your explanation."

"I bet you are." The Thief's grin grew more if that was even possible, "Do you really want my advice, Pharaoh?"

"...Yes."

The other turned so he was partly-facing the other again, "Then here it is: Stay away from Ryou and I." When the other's eyes narrowed, Bakura chuckled wickedly, "You obviously have your own weaknesses to deal with - appreciate the information, by the way, - so what my host and I do is none of your concern. When my Game is ready for you to play, I'll come and get you. Until then, just stay the Hell out of my way and no unfortunate accidents will befall your little friends."

"Bakura, don't you dare!" Yami snapped, "Any of your schemes are between you and I, leave everyone else out of it!"

"Pharaoh, don't tell me your memory is giving out on you again." Bakura smirked, "I tried that, remember? I wanted it to be just you and I in the ancient land... but your runt didn't like the idea of having you off your chain for such a length of time. As for your comedic inability to control the will of your own Item, I have no interest in helping you tap into the true power of the Puzzle."

"I have already done that."

"Obviously not if it's not listening to you. Perhaps it senses how weak your will is... and is awaiting a more fitting master before releasing its true might." His eyes fell to the Item around the Pharaoh's neck, his orbs practically gleaming, "...Perhaps it is waiting for me."

Yami growled and was about to retort... when a soft glow emitted from the Ring and, soon enough, Ryou had taken over yet again. The British boy gave a meek smile at the glare in the Pharaoh's eyes... but the hikari had been listening well enough to know that the cold stare was directed toward Bakura and not him.

"Um, I have a lot of homework to do." Ryou explained quickly, "Have a good night, Yami... a-and you too, Yugi. I'll see you tomorrow." Then the boy turned and walked off down the street.

((Yami?)) The young teen's voice rose from his soulroom, ((Are you okay?))

))...I'm fine. Evidentially, my hope of his deluded insight into my problem was too high a standard for him to rise himself to... though I did expect as much out of likes of him.(( Yes, he was pissed... and he was having difficulty hiding it. Yami was at the end of his rope in regard to his Item's attitude... and Bakura had been one of his last hopes.

Taking one last breath just to feel the air fill his lungs - a funny sensation that was all be lost to him in his soulroom since there was no true air to breathe - he gave back control. Sure, his soul breathed SOMETHING in that Puzzle, but it sure the Hell wasn't oxygen - it just didn't have the same feel. In actual truth, Yami despised his soulroom like nothing else and the mere thought of going back into it yet again made his stomach twist, but he had made a promise to keep. He wouldn't be like the Tomb Robber... he wouldn't show such blatant disregard toward his hikari by taking over whenever it pleased him. No, the Pharaoh would return to his soulroom... and continue his wanders throughout the endless passageways that never did lead anywhere. He could almost hear the Gods laughing at him.

))We... have to keep our eyes on them. Bakura has Ryou wrapped around his finger yet again and Ra only knows what he's planning this time.((

Yugi frowned once he had asserted control again before turning and slowly starting on his own way home. ((But… Ryou said they were fine… maybe… maybe we should trust his judgment. I mean, he has dealt with Bakura for a long time. He already had the Ring before Grandpa even gave me the Puzzle to solve.))

))Hn... didn't Ryou say that he wasn't aware of Bakura until after Battle City?((

((Well, yeah…)) The boy frowned, ((I don't know, Yami. I just think that… if Bakura is actually showing interest in other things and Ryou's okay with that, then why not? Doing history tests is a lot better than some other available choices.)) Yugi hesitated, then picked up again, ((Like what I told you. Yami, if you want out of the Puzzle to do something, I don't mind… in fact, it would be nice to see you enjoying yourself again. I haven't heard you laugh in forever.))

))I won't interfere in your life, Yugi. This is your time to live, not mine.((

((But–))

)) –I'm fine, Yugi, believe me. Being here when you need me is all the existence I need.((

The hikari sighed, ((If you say so, Yami.))

City Streets

Walking down the street with his ultimate destination being the Museum, Marik muttered to himself as he perfectly ignored everyone and everything around him. He glared at the wrinkle-creased piece of paper in his hand and the mocking '38' that was circled twice in red - as though the number itself wasn't spiteful enough. Another failed test, just what he wanted.

((I HATE MY LIFE!)) He snarled and, crumpling the paper, he then threw it into the nearest alleyway before continuing on with his hands shoved into his pockets. ((I should never have left my position in the Rare Hunters... at least with them I didn't have to deal with this school crap.))

The frustrating part was: He knew the work. He should easily past these pointless tests... if only his concentration wasn't broken into pieces every other second, that is. Other Bearers had it easy - their voices, for the most part, shut up when they told them to or, at least, knew when to stay quite - but his didn't... his seemed to just get louder. It just wasn't fair. He had thought he was going to be rid of all this junk, he had thought he'd be getting a normal life in exchange for helping the Pharaoh... but, once again, Atemu screwed him over.

((What is it with that damn Pharaoh and messing everything up? Is it becoming his damn hobby or something?! I wish he would just LEAVE!)) He snarled with a glare thrown to the Item at his hip, ((AND TAKE THESE CURSED THINGS WITH HIM!))

Then... he nearly had a heart-attack as a hand grabbed his shoulder, only to realize it was just Duke... at which point, Marik had to try his best not the flat-out strangle the idiot.

One hand clutching the shirt over his rapidly-beating heart, he glared at the smirking other, "Would you STOP doing that?! It wouldn't kill you to warn me before you pounce on me like some over-excited dog, you know."

"Joey's the mutt, not me." He rolled his eyes, "Besides that, I barely touched you."

"How about NEVER touching me?"

"Hey, if you'd get out of your head and live in this world with the rest of us than I wouldn't have to go to extremes to get your attention, would I?" Duke replied while pretending to admire his nails... or, at least, Marik hoped he was pretending. "Did you get your test back in Biology class?"

His glare narrowed but, instead of replying, he just started walking again.

Duke fell into step beside him, "That bad, hn?"

"Tell me when it's ever good." He muttered grumpily with hands once again buried in his pockets, "Remind me again why I deserted my position at the head of the Rare Hunters for this school crap?"

"Come on, Marik, it's not all that bad."

"'Not that bad'?" The Egyptian sneered at his friend - the only one he had.

It had been strange for the Egyptian to get used to - the concept that someone outside of his siblings was there for him - but, low and behold, Duke had been there for him ever since the incident at the Shrine. Sure, they could strangle each other from time to time... but it was still a friendship. At one point, when Marik got annoyed and asked why the other bothered with him, Duke had merely shrugged and said 'From what I heard, your dad was an ass. I can relate.' It had never been mentioned again... but none of this did anything to quell the Egyptian's temper at this moment in time.

"I stepped down from a position where I was worshiped to take on a normal life, only to then find out that the damn Pharaoh isn't going to be leaving and I still have to haul this damn Rod around everywhere. Now, not only do I still have to deal with voices in my head, but I also have to serve the damn Pharaoh as if he still HAS a Kingdom. How is that 'not that bad'? I went from being the master to the servant in less than a day!"

Duke sighed, "You know that the last thing Yami wants is to be served..."

"Tell that to Ishizu and Shadi. With both of them breathing down my neck, I'm lucky to have a life at all outside of school. If it wasn't for Odion, I wouldn't be able to sneak out half as many times as I do."

He grinned, "But, you have to admit, that concert was wicked last week."

"Yeah." He sighed slightly. ((The parts I heard, anyway.))

"I know you hate all this, Marik." Duke picked up after a moment of silence, "I know from what you've told me that it's hard... but just remember that it won't last forever, okay? Eventually, the Stone will be uncovered and Yami will leave."

"Eventually." The other sighed with eyes sliding shut as he walked, "I hate him, Duke. I hate looking at him, I hate listening to him, I hate taking orders from him… I hate degrading myself as his lesser. I put on a friendly-face before because I thought he was finally leaving, because I thought we could just move on in our lives... but, now, he's staying and I have to continue my act if I want to keep everyone else off my back. You saw how the others reacted during the earthquake - they still consider me a threat... and maybe they're right to."

The other frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Everyone knows what I'm capable of. I'm a dangerous person to be arou–" He was cut off as an arm looped around his neck and hauled him down into a tight headlock. Snarling, Marik gripped the arm that held him in attempt to pry it off, "You idiot! Get off me!"

Duke smirked as he struggled to keep his hold, "Or what? You'll banish me to the Shadows? Face it, Marik, you're not who you used to be. Come on, say it."

"Quit being such an adolescent child and let me go, you moron!"

"See? Before, you would have said 'fool'."

"Ra damn your stubbornness!" Finally prying the arm away just enough to get his head out, Marik pushed the other away from him before clenching his hands into tight fists at his sides, "Just because I have a vocabulary doesn't mean I've changed! What happened before--!"

"–Dammit, Marik, would you lighten up for once?!" Duke shot back once he had regained his balance, "He's long gone, alright? He's gone and he's not coming back! You locked him away forever, just like he de–!"

"–I tried, okay?!" As those words flew from his mouth, the Egyptian visibly flinched before his entire demeanor shrank back. Ignoring the bewilderment on Duke's features, Marik merely gave a weak smirk, "I... tried to, Duke... I really tried to." Then he turned and walked away, leaving his friend fairly confused in his wake. ((I really tried to get rid of you...))

))That you did, my foolish-half... that you did.(( Then a maddening laughter filled the young boy's skull.

As quickly as a tear fell from his eye, Marik swiped as his cheek to be rid of the stain of weakness that it left on his cheek. His lavender gaze turned to the sky above as he walked on alone, his heart desiring to be anywhere but here in this lone, cursed city. A storm had begun to brew amongst the clouds over Domino, giving its warnings through darkening skies and the chill in the rising wind. It was going to be one Hell of a storm...

( ) Both of you are far too dramatic. ( )

))Not dramatic, insane. Mark the difference, fool.((

( ) I wish you would 'mark the difference' between insanity and stupidity. ( )

…Marik just wished his own problems would pass as surely as the weather would.

Meanwhile…

The school scene now far enough behind him, Ryou was nearly home by the time Bakura started speaking through their mind-link once again. Ever since he had given back control after his talk with Yami, the Tomb Robber had been completely immersed in his soulroom to the point where the hikari could practically feel the other pacing. However, once he did start a conversation, the topic of discussion was what the white-haired boy had expected: Use of the body. Since it was Ryou's reasoning as to why Bakura couldn't go off with the body tonight, the subject had since changed to homework.

))I don't get it.(( He replied rather bluntly through their mind-link.

((It's calculus.)) The hikari chuckled back as he walked down the street, ((Nobody gets it.))

))No, I get how to do it, but what I don't get is what it's used for. Does it have a purpose?((

((I don't know. We just learn it to pass math... then I think everyone just forgets it later on.))

))You learn it to forget it.(( He growled, ))This school of yours makes no sense. Why do you even take that class if you don't need it?!((

((It's compulsory.))

))Compulsive?((

Ryou sighed, ((No, compulsORY - meaning it's required. Compulsive is when you punched the mailman the other day. You really have to stop doing that... I'm getting a reputation I'm not very fond of.)) He suddenly stopped walking as a he felt a raindrop land on his hand, "Oh, blast." The boy muttered before pushing himself into a slight jog with hands clasped around each strap of his bookbag. ((In any case, I need tonight to do homework and then I have to study for exams, alright, Bakura?)) When his answer was a cold silence, he frowned, ((Bakura?))

))...Do you feel that?((

((Feel what?))

His voice went ice-cold, sending a shiver down the hikari's spine, ))Give me the body.((

((What? B-Bakura, what are...?)) But he was effectively cut off as he was practically thrown back into his soulroom.

The very instant the Tomb Robber stole control over his host's body, a dark look shadowed over his features as he glanced around the city around him – trying to identify just where exactly he felt the source of the energy. It felt like Shadow Magic… only, somehow, different… and strangely familiar. Annoyed, Bakura growled against the rain that was steadily falling harder… only for his gaze to then fall to his chest as his Ring seeped through his clothing with a soft glow. As though answering its master's silent question, a single pointer on the Millennium Ring lifted to point across the city… and the white-haired yami didn't even hesitate as he took off running.

Sneakers splashing through the puddles that were growing larger from the downpour, Bakura sprinted through the city streets as fast as his legs could carry him. He had to fight against his own desire to just toss Ryou's backpack off of him because it was annoying the Hell out of him to carry it around, but he knew his host would just give him a headache if he did. So, he just tolerated the damn thing the best he could as he ran, cursing everything from the weather to his half-existence to school, until he came before a hotel.

He shivered slightly as the cold rain sunk into his bones, but he continued on regardless as he ran into the hotel – ignoring the deskman who was yelling at him – and sprinted up the stairwell to the second floor. Listening intently to where his Ring directed him, Bakura arrived at room fifty-eight and promptly pushed the door open… only to hit the chain-lock. A snarl sparking onto his lips, the Tomb Robber gave the door a crushing kick that sent it flying open to indent the wall behind it… just in time to see a flicker of fabric disappear out the open window.

Not even slightly out of breath, Bakura growled as the other seemed one-step ahead of him, but, as he crossed the room toward the window, he couldn't help but let his gaze be caught by the scattered belongings of the fleeing one. It appeared as though whoever it was had tried to make for the window with their backpack only for everything to spill out... so it had all been left behind instead.

))They must have sensed me coming.((

((And weren't quite fond of making your acquaintance, apparently.))

Growling, Bakura shrugged out of the straps of Ryou's bookbag and threw the damn thing onto the bed. As expected, Bakura didn't even have time to turn for the window before a voice echoed in his head.

((Bakura! You can't just–!))

))–Oh, for crying out loud, we'll come back for it later! It's slowing me down, dammit!(( Then he promptly jumped out the window into the rain just like the other had a minute prior.

Ignoring the slight mutter of annoyance from his hikari, the very second Bakura landed he immediately bolted into a flat-out run. Letting the power of his Item guide him, he ran in complete solitude – except for Ryou, of course – down the road for what felt like forever as he sloshed through one puddle after another. He had started out avoiding the deeper ones, but, seeing as how he was already drowned from head to toe, he just didn't see the point anymore.

He rounded a turn... only to skid to a stop so abruptly that he nearly lost his footing on the wet concrete.

In his path stood a woman - probably late teens to early twenties - with long, black hair plastered to her head to hang limply to her waste and cling to her skin and clothes. She looked rather plain - the kind of girl that you would walk right past on the street without even noticing her presence - and she dressed the part too. Her wear was simple: a dark-red T-shirt, black jeans supported by a belt, black boots, a few golden bangles on her wrists, and small golden Ankhs - the Egyptian symbol of life - dangled from her ears. Though they were mostly covered by her clinging hair, Bakura could also make out tribal-like tattoos on her upper-arms. She looked freezing, but seemed to be desperate to pull together some kind of display of confidence.

Her eyes were her one distinguishing feature, the right of blue and the left of green. They narrowed at the sight of the Thief. "What do you want?" She asked cuttingly, her voice challenging yet her body language telling the Tomb Robber loud and clear that she was scared to death.

His glare darkened as he glanced her over, noting that there was something familiar about this wench and that, whatever it was, it made his blood boil with rage. Growling, Bakura's tone was dangerously low as he spoke with narrowed eyes of hazel, "Name yourself."

She hesitated, but decided to comply. After all, he would gain no information from her name - it would mean nothing to him. "Samara Massri." Then, inwardly, she cried out, ((Shadi, for the love of Ra, where the Hell are you?!))

**END CHAPTER**

This chapter is what I call "Off-Balanced in a Good Way." It's a weird way to start a story, especially after the Prologue, so what's a writer to do? Roll with it! That's what! I'm actually quite pleased with this chapter because I got so much done in it! Yay, me!

My Favorite Part: Yugi and Bakura in class. XP

R&R!


	3. Confusing Confrontations

**Chapter Two: Confusing Confrontations**

Hi, everyone, and Happy Holidays! I finally figured out chapter two... hope it isn't too confusing. Basically, we're starting this chapter a few hours before the ending of the last one, then it catches up with the end of chapter one. Heh. Just read... you'll see what I mean.

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!

Yami no Kokoro: Thank you very much for both your reviews, any and all critic is always appreciated. I know my characterization was much easier to grasp within the Prologue, mainly because I had to make sure that it fit perfectly with the dub, and I can understand how chapter one must come as a jolt. However, as you said, a year has past... and a lot of things can happen in a year. Those "lost" pieces - like the change in relationship between Ryou and Bakura - will be explained later on. With Marik and the school, I personally believe that he's had enough with the desert for one lifetime, desiring a more modern life as his motorcycle in the dub kind of suggests. Of course, the others would follow him - choosing Domino specifically to kill two birds with one stone. Anyway, I hope that answers most of your questions and thanks again for the review!

Hakurei Ryuu: Thanks for the review and, believe me, you deserve SO much credit for how you've helped me. You've really been awesome through all this! :)

Mel-The-Wolf: Thank you so much for the review, I'm glad you like the story so far and hopefully I won't disappoint you... with EITHER of my fanfics. :)

BladeOfCrimson: "Epic," eh? Sweet! XD You flatter me so much... and I find it interesting how you like all three of my writing styles. Considering how different they are from one another, you would almost think such a thing would be impossible! Lol! Thanks for the review! :D

_**Quote of the Chapter:**__ There is no law of progress. Our future is in our own hands, to make or to mar. It will be an uphill fight to the end, and would we have it otherwise? Let no one suppose that evolution will ever exempt us from our struggles. 'You forget,' Said the Devil with a chuckle, 'That I have been evolving too.' _(William Ralph Inge) 

_**Song of the Chapter:**__ Disturbia_ (Rihanna)

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own YGO. I will never own YGO.......... except in my dreams. Take THAT!_

Airplane, Five Hours Ago

Soaring through the dull-gray sky above, a plane charted on a path East to West over the great Pacific Ocean flew smoothly onward towards its destination. Inside, the passengers were more than content to wait through the ride, each assured that they would reach their vacation spots, their business meetings, their family reunions, on time.

One being, however, waited anxiously in her seat, her mind barely registering the words written in the book she held.

She was going home... in the long scheme of things, anyway. Having already traveled through Europe to Russia, then across to Alaska, she had spent a few days hovering around Western Canada... when she had decided that she wanted to head home... if only to visit a short while before heading off again. This very morning, she had taken off from the coast of British Columbia and was now on her way Westward, planning to land in China, Hong Kong - having also decided that she might as well make the journey home the same way she had made it going away: On foot with just her backpack. Once in China, she would travers through Nepal, then India, Pakistan, Iran, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, and over the Red Sea... where she would find herself in familiar sands...

((I've been gone for quite a while.. I wonder if anything has changed?)) A small smile peaked on her lips, ((Probably not. The Tomb hasn't changed in over three thousand years, why would it start now?))

Shaking her head slightly, she forced herself to focus back on the book in her hands... only for a light snarl to touch her lips as she watched the letters and words shifting across the pages in a jumbled mess. It was a cheap illusion trick, if anyone else were to look at the page they would see its proper text and nothing else. When the words stopped moving, they read: "The book is as dull as your wit." The rest of the page was left as a mess of letters.

She snapped the book shut, "That's not funny." She growled in perfect Arabic. A few stares flickered her way - some of curiosity, others of irritation - but she simply ignored them. ((I happen to like this book more than I like talking to you, so, do us both a favor and keep your comments to yourself.((

A chuckle drifted forward, ))Really, host, you're far too tense... what is the reason for that, I wonder?((

Samara's brow twitched as a spark of pain touched her temple, making her growl in warning, ((Sakira.))

))Come now, watching you squirm is all the fun I'm able to have.(( Another sparkle of pain came forward, ))Especially since you insist on maintaining a moral-sucking existence that would make a maggot depressed.((

Groaning, Samara rose from her seat and slipped past the man she was sitting next to before stepping down the walkway of the plane until she came to the bathrooms at the back. Locking the door behind her, she braced her arms on the sink and gave a long sigh before raising her duo-coloured orbs to her reflection. However, it only took about a millisecond for her gaze to fall to the shining-black Item that rested over her chest... the Star of Humanoptra, also known as the Star of the City of the Dead or the Star of the Dead City.

No one was meant to know about the Star - its existence was to forever be a secret to everyone except Shadi's family line. Not even the Ishtars knew of it. That was just how it was written for it to be... but Shadi had always yearned to know more. He spent a good portion of his life studying the past, analyzing scriptures and stories, but in truth they did little good for finding anything useful.

Samara growled as she received a sharp jab in her temple that was far more demanding than before... but she released a bit of her hold against the other in her mind all the same. Not giving it another thought, she then continued to bend down over the sink and splash some water over her tanned features. By the time she straightened to look back into the mirror, a ghostly image stood behind her with arms crossed firmly over her transparent chest and a deathly-cold glare set into her blue eyes.

She was meant to have eyes like Samara's - one blue and one green - but that had changed three thousand years ago when her soul was torn in two, each half becoming sealed in two different Items. She had the Pharaoh to thank for that blessing. While one half remained in Egypt, this half went by the name of Sakira. She was wearing now the same clothes that she had worn when she was a Sorceress on the High Council. It was a sleeveless, pitch-black robe with a low-cut collar that was edged by golden decor and the Eye of Horus in the center. Her lower-half was mainly showing leg as cloth only covered her feminine area and behind her was draped a cape that glided behind her sandaled feet. Since she was dressed so darkly, her wear only amplified the shine of her gold pieces. On her right upper-arm she had a gold band (partially covering a scar) with the symbol of the God of the Dead and Lord of the Underworld, Osiris, on it, and on her left upper-arm was a gold band with the symbol of the God of Chaos, Seth. Her headpiece was a piece of shining gold that rested above her forehead over her smooth, white hair and bared the head of a jackal in the center - symbolic of the God of the Dead and Mummification, Anubis. Hoop-bracelets clattered on her wrists and just the normal, golden bands were set around her neck and calves.

Even Samara had to admit... she looked impressive enough. One might even use a word like "beautiful" if you could ever get over the fact that she's a homicidal maniac obsessed with her past and bent on destroying the people that betrayed her. Samara used to try not to let her communicate with her, but, at times when concentration wasn't exactly easy to maintain, that would become a challenge in itself. Nowadays, she allowed some degree of discussion between them – sometimes just to give the reincarnation someone to talk to. However, Sakira's favorite game with her host seemed to be playing with Samara's dreams to create nightmares straight from a Steven King horror flick. Even when Samara tried to block her, the dark Sorceress always seemed to be able to get to her in her dreams if nothing else.

She tried not to sleep.

Sakira used the mirror to match glares with her host, ))Honestly, would it kill you to make this trip more amusing? That book is crappiest piece of literature ever created and I'm completely bored out of my mind.(( Her glare narrowed, ))Isn't there something else you could do? Something that involves screaming would be greatly appreciated.((

"Hn… I suppose I could summon a storm to make the plane lurch all over the place." Samara smirked and wiped the dripping water from her face using the sleeve of her jacket, not trusting the cleanliness of the face cloth dumped beside the sink. "How about that?"

The dark woman growled, her eyes averting to the wall, ))...Accursed planes. Flying on a Dragon is one thing... whoever came up with the idea of trusting a piece of metal designed by the inferior minds of humans is a lunatic that deserves to have his brain splattered against a wall.((

As though on cue, the plane suddenly pitched down a good few feet, startling Samara to the point where she had to grab hold of the sink and wall to steady herself.

Sakira looked absolutely disgusted. Even though she wasn't in control of the body at the present time, she was still very much aware of what it was going through... and that motion had just left both their stomachs behind. ))That was NOT funny!((

"I'm not doing anything!" The younger shot back, only to then force Sakira back into her soulroom and rush from the bathroom like the armies of hell were on her heels. The plane lurched again, making her nearly stumble into a stewardess, and, noticing the seatbelt symbol flashing, Samara rushed to my seat and hurriedly strapped herself in. "What the hell is going on?"

Suddenly, a voice came over the speaker and Samara did her best to ignore the stream of curses from her yami's soulroom so that she could hear, "Attention, this is the c-captain speaking!" The panic in his tone could be keenly noted, "We are experiencing difficulties that require immediate attention. We will be making an emergency landing in Domino City, Japan, as it is the nearest airport to our current location. Please remain calm and stay seated. I repeat..."

The plane lurched and Samara nearly lost her breakfast, but she couldn't care less. ((D-DOMINO CITY?! DOMINO CITY! NO! I can't go there! Not there! Please, anywhere but there!))

A small chuckle rose from inside her head, ))Looks like fate is interfering, my pathetic hikari... what do you plan to do now?((

Not wanting to deal with the Sorceress' mockery, the hikari just pushed the dark other back – cutting her off completely from the outside world – and immediately started to think of a plan out of this mess.

((It... it's okay. I can deal with this... calmly...)) She bit her lip as her stomach churred within her - not even noticing when she bit too hard and her lip began to bleed. ((I'll just get on the next plane out...)) Her gaze turned to the sky, now far darker than she remembered it a few minutes prior, ((...No matter where it's going. I can't take the risk... I can't let this happen!))

Airport Terminal, Two Hours Ago

The aircraft had landed roughly, but safely. Thankfully, no one had been hurt with the jarring motions of the plane... but there was a rising speculation that someone might get hurt quite soon if the clenched fists and heated glare of one of the ex-passengers was any indication. Standing at the main desk with her backpack slung over her shoulder, Samara stared her opponent down - something she had learned to do from her yami.

"What do you mean there aren't any flights leaving?!" She demanded to know in a very wooden Japanese tongue, "I don't care where it's going! It can be flying to the Arctic for all I care!" Then she added mentally, ((Or the middle of the desert, by any chance?))

"I'm sorry," The manager, having already been called out under her demand, continued with a calm face. "There's an earthquake warning for this area. All flights are grounded until that clears."

"But we'd be in the air! An earthquake isn't going to affect us there!"

"Company policy. It would be our responsibility if an earthquake occurred while our planes were still touching ground and something happened. I'm sorry, but you'll have to take up a hotel for now."

She seethed slightly, but defeat trailed into her features all the same. Not giving the man another word, she spun and stalked out of the airport. The very second she stepped outside, a shiver trailed over her as a cold gust assaulted her. Growling slightly, her gaze fell to the Item that was concealed beneath her shirt. She could almost feel its powers prodding her mind, pushing all the right buttons to heighten her anger and fear... and the strength of the wind and the darkening clouds above were the reflection of how far it had gotten with her this time.

((Just brilliant.))

She forced herself to take a deep breath, closing her eyes as she did in an attempt to calm herself and, thereby, the Star. It's power swirled her mind, attempting to maneuver her emotions for its own gain like it had a moment ago, but soon, after hitting enough walls, it seemed to back off. As soon as she felt that give, her duo-coloured stare flashed open. The storm was still swirling above the city, threatening a downpour, but there was nothing that she could do about that. It was the outcome of her mood, after all, and there was no way she could ever even begin to feel at peace here... not in this accursed city. At the very least, the wind had died down now.

((I have to get out of here and quickly. Five of the seven Millennium Items are active here...)) Her gaze swept over the city buildings that seemed to enclose her, capturing her in a prison with their towering bodies. She'd been in many cities before... but Domino just felt so cold in comparison that a shiver trailed down her spine. ((This place will be the death of me if I don't do something.))

Eyes narrowing, Samara pulled her black leather jacket around her a bit more in search for more warmth before shoving her hands in its pockets and turning away from the crowd, disappearing instead down the alleyway beside the airport terminal. The farther away from the street she walked, the quieter it became and she found that she could begin to hear herself think again... which was exactly what she needed to do. After what felt like forever, she stopped just at the edge of the building, eyeing the large landing strips and cargo-loading areas. Everything was at a stand-still with the earthquake warning, not even the plane Samara had come in on had been moved from where it had stopped. Either they were smart or paranoid, she couldn't really decide which.

She bit her lip, flinching slightly when she reopened the cut she made on the plane but forgetting about it a mere second later, ((I... could use my method.)) Eyes clouded in fear, her hand rose and rested over where the Item waited for her command under her red shirt. ((I could...))

_Burnt hair._

_Charred flesh._

_Twitching limps._

_Dead eyes._

_STENCH._

Eyes clamping shut, Samara leaned back against the wall of the building as her stomach lurched with the memories flashing before her eyes. Shuttering, she let herself slide to the dirt, tucking her legs against her body with her face buried in her arms. She couldn't do it. She used to use it all the time... but ever since...

The Star flared.

Shaking her head to be rid of all this nonsense that was about as much help as the flu, she stomped her emotions down and took a few moments to sharpen her mind. This was no time to lose focus, after all. Setting a keen glare, she soon pushed herself back onto her feet and turned back the way she had come. Adjusting her backpack on her shoulder, she made up her mind.

((I'll get a hotel nearby and keep the TV on the news. The second the warning is lifted for the earthquake, Seth himself won't be able to keep me here. I swear it.))

Reaching the street, she flagged over a taxi and began to prepare herself for the worst.

The Setting Sun Hotel, Twenty Minutes Ago

"So far so good." Samara muttered as she glanced at the news broadcaster who was chatting about - if her Japanese was right - some kind of new advancements at some big company called... KaibaCorp. She groaned and averted her stare back to her sketch pad as the CEO's face came on screen. "Dammit, of all the places I had to wind up..."

Lying on the bed with her leather jacket forgotten at her feet, she was just waiting for the hours to tick by. She wasn't planning on going out, and since room-service in this hotel wasn't available, she guessed that meant that she wasn't planning on eating either. Not that she really cared – she was too nervous to eat anyway. This city was swarming with people that weren't supposed to know the Forbidden Items - the Items of Knert Neter - even existed, and that was the way it had to stay.

Her sketch pad propped-up against one bent leg, she was currently finishing up something she had started on the plane. It was a pencil-drawing of Shadi from his waist up with his two yamis standing behind him in a much lighter shade so they appeared somewhat transparent. With Shada on the right with the Key around his neck and Karim on the left holding the Scales, each was drawn to reflect the "personalities" of each. Shadi was doing his usual serious stare straight ahead, Shada was glaring at the second yami… and Karim was laughing. Samara had only spoken to each on one occasion – back before she had even received the Star – when Shadi had invited her into his mind so she would know what to expect when Sakira joined her. Of course, Karim and Shada were much more welcoming towards Samara than her own yami had been… but, she had always gotten the feeling that Shada didn't trust her very much. She couldn't blame him.

Raising her stare to the hotel window, she almost rolled her eyes at the sight of rain. How utterly fitting. She wasn't sure if it was raining because she was upset or if it was what was forecasted for today, but, either way, it just seemed to make the evening even more depressing.

A slight smile came to her lips as she took a final glance over her picture, ((There... not bad, if I do say so myself. What do you think?)) When she found her mind to be as silent as the dead, her smirk grew. ((Oh, right.))

Unlocking the Sorceress from the depths of her mind, Sakira came forward in full force with a blistering tone, ))Just who the hell do you think you are, you little brat?! How DARE you lock me away like some common pestilent!(( Samara could feel her headache growing, ))You DARE block off my senses to the world around me like it's some kind of game?! I was locked away for three thousand years, I refuse to have to go through that again! How long was I gone and where the hell are we now?!((

((So... do you like the picture or not?)) When it felt like she had been punched in her subconscious – successfully giving her a split pain across her forehead – Samara growled, ((Stop being a baby! You were only away for a few hours, it's not even supper yet.)) She sighed, ((And we're in a hotel... in Domino City.))

Suddenly, the Sorceress split away from her host and stood beside the young woman's bed in her transparent spirit-form. A growing smile on her features, she regarded Samara with keen interest, ))Could it be? Is this a sudden change in heart?(( Her smile grew to a grin, ))Perhaps common sense isn't above you after all! Together we could overpower Shadi, reclaim the Bracelets of Queen's Valley and devastate the Pharaoh like never before! We could have this entire city bowing at our feet by nightfall!((

Samara looked at her for a moment, then she turned the page of her sketch-pad and started sketching randomly, "You lost me at 'common sense.'"

))Samara, how could you be so blind to your own power?!((

"Sakira, how could you be so loud about it? I'm trying to concentrate."

She snarled, ))I swear... I swear to the Dark Gods that I won't let you hold me back forever. I WILL destroy this world with or without your help!((

"'Destroy'?" Samara frowned, "I thought you wanted to rule it."

Sakira shrugged, ))Whatever comes first.(( She suddenly vanished, only to reappear at the window, ))What lovely weather.((

"Bloody beautiful." The hikari sighed, "Are you just trying to be annoying now?" When the Sorceress didn't say a word, Samara's stare lifted in suspicion. "What's wrong with you now? ...Sakira?" Growling, she pushed herself up off the bed and stepped in beside her yami at the window.

It had grown very dark outside and it was now raining much harder than it had been a few minutes prior. Most of the streets were deserted of life now - anyone with half a brain taking shelter indoors – but the one figure that could be seen made Samara's blood run cold.

))...Better change into something nice, hikari.(( Sakira chuckled with a growing grin, ))We're about to have company.((

She bit her lip, "...Not if I have anything to say about it."

Whipping around, Samara rushed to where her bag sat on her bed and began shuffling through its many pockets. Not a moment later, she pulled out a small, brown, cloth bag. Quickly pulling open its strings, she poured a bit of the sand-like substance into the palm of her hand and, moving to the window, promptly threw it wide open. As lightning flashed above the city, pouring a bright light into the room, Samara closed her hands around the sand and she began to chant until the substance took on a brilliant red glow. Then, when it shone bright enough to blind, she threw the sand out the window with just a flick of her wrist… trusting it to carry her message across the gap of continents as fast as it could. She needed Shadi's help to get out of this mess… she just hoped there was still time.

))There is no running from the Millennium Ring.(( Sakira smirked with arms crossed over her chest, her tone far to pleased for her hikari's liking. ))He'll find us.((

"That doesn't mean I have to make it easy for the bastard!" Samara snapped back and, forcing a rather smug yami back into her mind and making her Item settle back under her shirt, she grabbed her bag… only for everything to spill onto the floor.

Sakira wisely refrained from commenting.

A second later, the door opened, only to hit the chain-lock, and, by the time she heard the CRASH of a door being smashed open, Samara had already jumped right out the window.

The cold wind stung her cheeks as she fell, but that was nothing compared to the jolt that snapped up through her legs as she landed hard. Stumbling, she caught herself with her hands roughly padding down on the concrete before she pushed off in a flat-out run. She quickly found herself wishing for her jacket as a chill slipped into her bones within seconds, but she just banished such thoughts from her head. They wouldn't help her worth a shit - she had to concentrate. Her hair plastered to her head and face with the rain, she forced herself to go faster as she spun around a corner.

))Running is pointless... you do realize that, right?((

((Shut up or you are SO getting cut off from the world for a WEEK!))

She knew he was behind her, but fear prevented her from glancing back to see how far. Doing such would change her balance, shift her weight... slow her down. No, she had to keep running. If she could just keep running long enough for Shadi to come, then everything would still be okay.

She swerved around another turn... only to gasp as her boots slipped out from underneath her and she crashed to the pavement. Scrapped hands and knees the least of her worries, she groaned in pain as she pushed herself back up to her feet, only to stop dead.

))He's here.((

Samara whirled where she stood on shaky legs, hands balled into fists at her side, just in time to see her pursuer whip around the same turn that she had just crashed around. He fumbled to a stop, traction obviously a problem for him as well, but when his glare matched hers... a shiver trailed down her spine as she set her jaw so tight it began to throb. Staring out from beneath his sagging bangs, the fact he was wearing a school uniform did absolutely nothing to make him seem any less intimidating.

))Bakura...(( Sakira breathed the name, her smile easily heard in her voice, ))...At last, our paths collide again.(( She laughed slightly, ))I wouldn't have pictured him without a tan... but it somehow works for him.((

((SHUT UP FOR ONCE!))

Samara's eyes narrowed against his glare, "What do you want?" She challenged, giving everything she had into covering up her nerves.

His eyes suddenly darkened, a faint snarl twitching onto his lips as he spoke in a deathly-low voice that almost became a whisper amongst the pounding rain. It made Samara shutter. "Name yourself." He commanded.

She hesitated, her stomach flipping as she forced her glare to remain as firm as she could, but she was finding that harder and harder to do so under the cutting glare of the Tomb Robber. A thousand thoughts plagued her mind, but the most repeated of which was just a tiny, little question that made her stomach squirm: Why him? Of all the ones to be forced to confront... why must it be the one that scared her to death? She couldn't let him see her fear, she had to be strong... something that was easier said than done.

She parted her lips, her throat raw and mouth dry, "Samara Massri." Then, inwardly, she cried out as though her thoughts could cross the distance that stood between the continents. ((Shadi, for the love of Ra, where the hell are you?!))

A shiver trailed up her spine as his glare narrowed against hers, as though in so doing he could find out everything there was to know about her. A thread of fear began to weave itself through her thoughts as they stood in silence in the embrace of a growing storm and she couldn't help but feel like he was using her eyes as windows to her soul, leafing through all the things in her life that were supposed to remain private. It made her want to clamp her eyes shut. She wasn't being paranoid, per se: He could read her thoughts... after all, he had the Millennium Eye... a very unsettling thought indeed, but her Star should protect her from that... at least, she hoped it could. She didn't know, she'd never been around any Items besides the Key and Scales... and she had never battled them! How was she supposed to know what a clash between the Millennium Items and the Items of Khert-Neter would bring? This had all just been one huge mistake...

She clenched her jaw, ((How could I have let this happen?! How could I have been so STUPID?!))

Bakura advanced a single step forward, only to stop as Samara quickly backed up one. His eye twitched in irritation, but he was certain now that she was familiar to him - only slightly different. There was something there... something he didn't quite remember...

An old memory fluttered to the surface of his mind, but it was gone before he could grasp it. ))Dammit, what the hell is going on?! I never lost my memories like the Pharaoh did, so why does it feel like I'm fumbling around in the dark half the time?! I'm Bakura, Tomb Robber and arch-nemesis of the Pharaoh! What else is there to remember?!((

Ryou gave him no response.

Snarling, Bakura glared at the one across from him, "What manner of sorcery are you capable of?"

"I..." Samara's cold stare faltered slightly, but she quickly recovered, "I don't know what you're talking about."

His glare darkened... only for his face to become splashed with a yellow light as the Millennium Ring at his chest came to a brilliant glow. As shadow and light mixed on his appearance, he looked even more demonic than usual as he stared down the stranger - practically daring her to make a move.

She gasped and stumbled back slightly, proving once and for all that all she really wanted to do was run. Hands clenched at her sides, her gaze flew from left to right, desperate to find some path of escape... but all she found were the walls of buildings. She shivered as she felt the power of the Ring swell - a threat she was not taking lightly - and she turned her narrowed stare back to the Tomb Robber with the pulsation of his Item mimicked over her own chest.

This was it then. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide... and everything to lose.

"I'll warn you once, mortal: Do not pester me." Bakura snarled with each word carefully dipped in ice before he spoke, his orbs blazing with a barely-controlled fire. "Or you'll quickly come to regret your foolishness. I'll ask you once more: What manner of sorcery do you control? Tell me... now."

Posture straightening, Samara growled in defiance, "No."

His voice turned to acid, "What?"

"You heard me, I said: 'No.'" At his growing snarl, Samara bit her lip - tasting blood yet again - before speaking again, doing her best to stay calm in hopes that he would follow her lead. "Ignorance is bliss, Bakura... you'd do best to remember that. Sometimes... sometimes things are kept from us for our own good. Sometimes the truth only bears pain - that is all I have to say to you." She hesitated, but took the chance to turn her back. She had to get away from him - she couldn't let this situation get any further out of control than it already had.

))Despicable wench! Who does she think she's dealing with?!(( And a blast of energy streamed from the Millennium Ring.

Sensing the sudden burst, Samara whirled around again with wide eyes... barely giving herself a second to raise her hands as though to shield herself before the attack struck hard. Teeth gritted, Samara braced herself the best she could on the wet pavement... as a black aura around her form grew like a black flame. Shoving back against the Ring, the dark energy snapped angrily against that of light as it defended its caster - dark symbols sparking to life across Samara's face as she was forced to use more and more power. The young woman took a step back to better brace herself, but, just like that, the yellow magic of the Ring retracted... and Samara was left panting for air with no time to hide what she had been forced to use.

Bakura's glare narrowed upon the glowing symbols upon her features: A black Shen - the Egyptian symbol of eternity - blazed on the center of her forehead as well as two wavy lines on either side of it and three wavy lines beneath each eye that reflected their deadly glow into her mix-matched glare. Around her neck was a rope that supported a star-shaped Item with a near-reflective black surface that was edged it gold. In the center of the Item was a golden Shen and two of each of the lines that had been on Samara's face were now gold in each of the five heads of the star itself. The piece held a gloomy glow as it used its power... the power that Bakura had sensed practically radiating off the Item in every sense of the word.

Breathing rather heavily, Samara glared at the white-haired other with all the anger that now surged through her veins. ((THAT BLOODY IDIOT! I can't believe I've sacrificed the last eight years of my life for the sake of morons like HIM!))

A chuckle mocked her, ))Neither can I, my brat.((

Bakura's keen stare darkened as he was given a good look at the strange Item, having never seen anything like it in his life... but, yet, he swore it felt familiar to him. He couldn't explain it - everything about this wench tweaked at something within his mind, drawing back onto something that he couldn't remember for the life of him. Something about all this, about the rain, the storm, the mix-matched eyes, the Item... it was all there already in his mind, like a deja vu.

He growled, ))This is impossible, I've obsessed over every aspect of my past for three thousand years! There is no way in Hell I know this bitch or that piece of crap around her neck!((

An image flashed before his eyes and, as a pain lit at his temples, it flashed away again before he had a chance to see it. His brow furrowed as he gave his head a shake as though it would clear his head... but it only seemed to let more flashes through... and more pain.

...A city burning...

...A Dragon...

...Broken bodies...

Teeth gritted, Bakura's shaking hands held his skull as though he could physically rip the agony away from him.

...Green and blue against white...

...Driving rain...

...So much blood...

...Screams... his own...

A groan of pain fell from his lips as he swayed on his feet, barely able to keep standing as his knees suddenly seemed to find standing to be a very difficult task.

...A laugh, changed... not the same...

...Cold, numb... consuming rage...

...Nothing left... nothing but chaos...

A voice broke through with words tainted by a British accent, ((Bakura? Bakura?! What's wrong?!))

That was it. In a jolt that he literally felt to the point where he staggered on his feet, Bakura was slammed back into modern day like when someone suddenly awakens just as they had begun to fall to sleep. Sweat mixed with the rain at his brow as his hands brushed his sagging bangs out of his disoriented eyes...

))T-That... what the fuck was that?((

((Bakura? Bakura, are you okay?))

His eyes narrowed again. Ryou had grounded him, brought him back... he knew that much... but what the hell had made him drift to begin with, he hadn't a clue. By the sands, they weren't even his memories! ...They couldn't be... they just... couldn't... he couldn't remember ever seeing things like that before.

Sharpening his wits again, Bakura lifted a daggered glare to the other with him, "How did you do that? What the HELL are you trying to do to me?!"

Samara took a wise step back, ((Shit, what just happened?))

))Isn't it obvious?(( Sakira's smirk could literally be heard in her voice, ))His mind is trying to break free of the box the Priests put him in. He's trying to remember... only the idiot doesn't realize it, so now he's blaming us. Typical male behavior.((

((No... dammit, no! I won't let that happen!))

))Then I suggest you stay single.((

((SHUT UP! I WON'T LET HIM REMEMBER YOU! IT'LL MESS EVERYTHING UP!)) Then... she whipped around and bolted. Mind racing as she tried to think of somewhere to run TO, Samara cursed at everything around her. Why, oh why, of all the cities in the world – of all the cities in Japan – why did she have to be forced to land HERE?! She growled, ((IDIOT, IDIOT, IDOT! If only he could REALIZE what he's done by keeping me here!)) But, at the same time, she could have punched herself in the face, ((I should never have boarded a flight passing over Japan…! I shouldn't have taken the risk…! Shadi, for the love of Ra, please HELP ME!))

She felt a power spike behind her… then complete agony surged through her body, making her cry out against her will before she crippled to the wet street beneath her.

Whispers in the Wind

Red sands carried by a strong gust traveled faster and farther than anything imaginable, yet, if one laid gaze upon it as it went about its journey, it appeared to be in no rush at all. The grains danced amongst the wind, ringing a soft message that was too soft for most to hear, but, to others, it sent a shiver down their spines though they had no idea why.

Carefully, the grains rushed across oceans and forests, plains and lakes, to finally find its journey nearly at an end as the world turned to sand dunes and buildings of brown stone. Amongst the ruins of an ancient village, the coloured sands plunged down an old well and into the Tomb hidden beneath. Still carried by the breeze, they traveled through the passageways expertly to seek the Keeper laid into meditation within the depths of his home. When they breathed into the room, the grains danced around his form that was seated cross-legged on the floor.

'...Shadi...'

Eyes of ice snapped open in surprise, "...Samara..." He quickly rose to his feet, observing the coloured sand whirling around him carefully.

'...Help me... Domino...'

Shadi's eyes widened ever so slightly, then the red sand just disappeared into thin air and he was left quite unsettled. "Domino City...?" His eyes narrowed again, ((...What are you doing there?))

Domino City, City Streets

Bakura's snarl turned to a smirk as he observed the fallen figure not far in front of him. It hadn't been a wise move to turn her back to him… in another time, it would have been fatal. She should consider herself lucky for that.

((Bakura, please, let's just go home. I know you're mad, but there's no need to make things worse than they already are by doing something less-than-favorable.))

The white-haired yami growled in warning through his mind-link, ))Ryou.((

((Y-You've already proven you're the better, after all. She tried to get away and you showed her why I'm getting a bad reputation in this city, what more could you want?))

He took a moment to respond, ))…Answers.(( Then he began to walk over to the stupid girl, ))Don't interfere, Ryou. I intend to teach this wench a lesson on manners, then I have a few questions that need answering.(( He could practically feel the other's uneasiness, ))I've already promised you countless times that I won't kill anyone of this time… and, when I do give it, I don't back down on my word. Just stay in your soulroom and shut up for a while.((

Lying on her stomach, all the muscles of her body trembled and twitched in shock, pain running through every centimeter of her form. Gritting her teeth, she knew she had to get up, she knew she had to keep going... but, Ra, did it hurt. The rain was the only comfort at the moment, its dance from the sky acting like a massage over her aching back.

))You are the most pathetic thing I've ever had the misery of associating with.((

((...S-Shut up.))

Suddenly, Sakira began to chuckle slowly... until it grew into a full-out manic laughter within the confinements of her host's own mind, ))No, Little One, you won't be giving the orders anymore. The Shadow Magic that courses through your body at this very second is going to be the same magic that will tear you apart! As a Sorceress before I even became a Bearer... did you honestly think I've forgotten how to absorb energy?!((

Samara's eyes flashed wide as a blistering headache ignited at her forehead, making the pain that scorched over her entire body feel like nothing but a mosquito bite. Clamping her eyes shut, she tried to push herself up off the ground, only to find that very action difficult to the point where her arms shook with the effort of it.

((D-Damn you, S-Sak-ira.)) But at that the pain only intensified until Samara's vision started to blur in and out of focus. She heard footsteps slowly coming up behind her, making her curse slightly. "D-Dammit... I... I can't face both... Shadi... where are you...?"

Ignoring the brutality of the storm that was worsening with every passing minute, Bakura growled as he stepped up just a few paces away from the fallen figure. "What are you muttering about now, wench?" He snapped... only to stop dead where he was as she turned a glare to him over her shoulder. The look in her eyes, the one of pure, raw hatred... he'd seen it before. Not from her, but from one very much like her. His gut told him he had. ))Who is this bitch?! Why can't I remember?!((

The same black symbols from before beaming across her strained face, Samara's glare became as murderous as his own had been not five minutes ago. "Damn you, B-Bakura... y-you have no idea what y-you've done!" Cringing, her hands flashed up and held her head in pain, eyes clamped shut as she fought to keep control. "...J-Just stay the hell away from me!" And a lightning bolt shot down upon the teen like a coil - lashing down from the sky, picking her up amongst its electric change, then taking her away with it as it departed back up into the brewing storm clouds.

Stumbling back in silent surprise, the Tomb Robber eyes flashed wide before settling back to his fierce glare that seemed almost locked on the sky. The storm was still as fierce as ever and the thought did touch his mind of just staying screw it... but it was quickly becoming no choice at all for him. There was something about that girl, something that stirred up memories in his past... and, for one reason or another, she enraged him. There was something about her, something he recalled... something just out of his sight that made his soul burn with a flame so fierce he couldn't control it. The only thing that had subdued it was seeing her in pain… a curious thing in itself.

((Bakura, please! I think you've stirred up enough trouble for one day! Can't we just go home?))

A face flashed in his mind with tanned skin and long, white hair... but then it was gone as a crushing pain nailed his skull, making him clamp his eyes shut in agony until the pain subsided slightly. He growled through gritted teeth and then, taking in a shuttered breath, he opened his eyes again... just in time to see a single pointer on his Millennium Ring lift and point diagonally across the city.

His glare narrowed, "...'Samara,' was it?"

"_Sometimes things are kept from us for our own good. Sometimes the truth only bears pain."_

"You know what I don't... and I'll get you to tell me..." Bakura snarled, "I'll get you to tell me even if I have to torture it out of you!" And he took off running again in the direction the Ring took him.

Domino Museum, Ishizu's Office

"Sister!"

A blonde-haired, Egyptian teen rushed into his sister's office still wearing his school uniform. Normally, he would have found her with her nose buried deep in research books, scrolls, government documents, and letters from various sources from all across the globe… but not today. Today, Ishizu stood at the window, her blue-eyed stare observing the swirling storm-clouds as they swirled over the city. Though the streaming rain on the glass distorted the view slightly, the viciousness of the storm was more that apparent as lightning danced, thunder crackled, wind roared, and rain stung.

The female Ishtar couldn't possibly see anything worthy of attention from her spot, but that fact didn't waver her attention for even a second... even as the shout of her younger brother interrupted her thought-pattern.

"Marik," Ishizu began sternly, her attire being a simple dress of creme with an emerald-green trim, "Shouldn't you be at home doing your homework?"

"Shouldn't you be at your desk working?" He cut straight back with a sly smirk.

"Master Marik," A voice came from behind the blonde teen as the third member of the Ishtar clan entered the room, "Are you alright?"

"Odion," The youngest Ishtar turned to face his brother, "I'm not sure. I was on my way home from school in the rain and I suddenly felt a strong surge of dark magic... so strong that it made the Rod react. Almost immediately the storm got worse. It was strange... it didn't really feel like Shadow Magic, but it seemed similar to it." He shrugged, "I just felt like something was off, so I decided that I should check on you guys."

The eldest Ishtar set down a tray that carried two mugs of coffee as well as a few miscellaneous snacks, "'Magic'?" He echoed, only to then frown, "Do you know from where?"

Marik shook his head, "I thought it was coming from the West side of Domino... but then, a second later, it seemed to be from the East side."

"...Over the park."

Both brothers turned at the words of their sister who had yet to move from the window, her eyes, so fixated on storm, narrowing with her own words. Ever so carefully, the Egyptian woman laid her hand over her Millennium Necklace, as though to make sure it was still there, but she didn't dare call upon its remarkable power. She had tried before, tried so many times...

"Ishizu?"

When the woman finally turned, she found Odion offering her a cup of coffee with worry carved into every feature of his face. He was wearing black pants and a dark-blue, long-sleeve shirt.

"Are you alright?"

The female Ishtar nodded slightly as she took the cup, a heavy frown set over her tired features, "Yes, I'm fine."

"What does your Necklace say about all this?" Marik inquired as he walked up to them, shaking his head at Odion's offering of the second mug of coffee as he came. "Has it shown you anything useful?"

Ishizu closed her eyes softly, "No." Was all she said.

"'No'?" Marik echoed with a frown, "What do you mean 'No'? Your Item must be telling you som–"

"–I mean that it hasn't been showing me anything!" She interrupted harshly with eyes snapping open, making both siblings jump slightly in surprise, but then her tone dropped again as her gaze fell to the steamy beverage in her hands. "I cannot see anything with my Item. All I receive when I try is a mist of uncertainly." Mentally, she cringed, ((Then all there is... is pain.))

"Then a decision has yet to be made." Odion offered as he sipped his coffee, "Isn't that what it means?"

"Normally." Ishizu shook her head slightly, "But this has gone on for too long for it simply to be that - it's too cold and consuming. No, I do not believe that my Item cannot predict the future because of a choice... I believe it cannot predict the future because it is being blocked."

"'Blocked'?"

"How long has this been going on for?" Marik frown and, doing a bit of non-magical mind-reading, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Or, should I say, how long haven't you been sleeping?" When the other just shook her head, Marik's eyes narrowed, "Ishizu, have you been able to see ANYTHING since you got your Necklace back from the Pharaoh last year?" When, again, his answer was silence, the brother rolled his eyes skyward, "Dammit, Ishizu, why didn't you say something? I knew you were putting in long hours but working yourself to death isn't going to solve anything!" He took the coffee cup away from her, "You don't need this... you need sleep. Now."

Again, she shook her head, "No, I can't. This cold wall that's blocking me... I sense that there's something dreadful waiting behind it. There's something I must do... I... I don't know what yet but..." Slowly, she rose a hand to her face as she felt a single rear trace down her cheek. She didn't know why she was crying, but she was... if only just a bit. Perhaps sleep depravation was finally getting to her. "…I'm frightened." She admitted, "I'm frightened because this is the first time since I was a child that I don't know anything about what's going to happen."

When the woman suddenly swayed on her feet, Marik's arm came around her shoulders to steady her... only to find her to be trembling ever so slightly. "Well, for now you have to get to bed. We'll figure this out later." His lavender gaze went to his eldest sibling, "Odion, could you...?"

"Of course." Replacing Marik's hold on Ishizu with his own, he looked at the blonde haired Egyptian questioningly when the boy stepped back, "Are you not coming?"

He shook his head with a smirk as he made for the door, "I have to check something out. I'll be back." He glanced back over his shoulder with one hand on the doorknob, "Is that okay with you, Odion?"

"Of course, Master Marik."

"I told you before," His smirk faltered ever so slightly, "It's just 'Marik' now." Then he slipped outside the office and started down the hall. ((I treated you both so horribly for years… there's no way in Hell I'm burdening either of you with my issues.)) Then he added, ((Especially now.))

))I think I may take offence to being referred to as an 'issue,' you're the one that needs psychological help.((

( ) He's right, you know. It's not everyday that a child is messed-up enough to actually spawn a creature of darkness from their own soul. I can't decide if it's impressive or pathetic, to be perfectly honest. …And that's not even considering the fact that, technically, you are Mariku's mother.( )

))What the…? Are you high, Priest?! I swear, if you have something in your soulroom and you've been holding out on me…((

( ) The very last thing you need is drugs and, aside from that, my statement is completely valid. You were, in a sense, born from the darkness in Marik's heart so, yes, it could be said that he's your mother. In fact, it could also be looked at that Marik's father is your father since he was the one who preformed the ritual that created the darkness. ( )

))...And now I'm scarred for life. Thank you very much, Priest, for the very disturbing mental-images. ...Fuck, I think I'm developing a fucking twitch in here!((

( ) Perhaps we should book you for the mental-exam right after Marik's? ( )

Marik seethed, ((If you two don't shut the fuck up right now, I swear to Ra that I'm coming in there and I'll lock you both in Mariku's fucking soulroom, GOT IT?!))

A moment of silence followed... then: ( ) ...Curiosity overwhelms me, Mariku: Why do you have a goat in your soulroom? ( )

))Fuck if I know, ask Marik. Probably something to do with his screwed-up mind. Believe me, if I could rid of it, I would. I already killed it about twenty times but it just pops up again somewhere else. I swear, the damn thing never shuts up!((

Marik groaned, ((Gee, I really can't imagine what THAT must feel like.))

Back in Ishizu's office, the female Ishtar sighed heavily once her youngest sibling had left, then her stare shifted up to her older brother who she was resting most of her weight on. "Do you think he will be okay?"

Odion smiled warmly and tightened his grip on her shoulders reassuringly, "Master Marik is most capable of taking care of himself."

She returned the smile, but soon her eyes shifted back to the storm that still brewed wildly over the park. Lightning lite the room as a deafening thunder cracked at their ears. All of this, along with the ominous black storm clouds that swirled in a motion similar to that seen with a tornado, caused her smile to falter slightly, then vanish completely.

"Do you think we will be okay?" She touched the Millennium Item about her neck again and found that she still could only see a dark mist. She cringed as pain once again lite at her temples before easing off, leaving her feeling even more exhausted. "...Do you think the Bearers will be okay?"

"That, Lady Ishizu," Odion's smile had fallen like hers had as he watched the same storm worsen by the minute, "Is something that I cannot tell."

**END CHAPTER**

Okay... God, I love Mariku's randomness. He has problems with goats... though that is explained... somewhat... later. -.-U Foreshadowing in the Author comments! Yay! lmao! XD

Hn, thing with Samara and Bakura worked well, I think. Heh. They get along like cats and dogs - that will NOT change, I promise you that! Regarding Samara, I've been very careful with her character design and I have had the critic of the lovely Hakurei Ryuuto help with that. In actual fact, Samara doesn't really 'play' well with the rest of the group - especially Bakura. She only really gets along well with Shadi for obvious reasons that aren't obvious right now. :)

No matter what your faith, no matter what your choice... have a Happy Holiday, everyone!

My Favorite Part: Samara and Sakira in the hotel room, definitely. When they're 'fighting' but not 'fighting', they're really cool characters to play off each other. ;)

Don't forget to R&R!


	4. Coming of the Storm

**Chapter Three: Coming of the Storm**

Okay, here's Chapter Three! Hope you enjoy it because I really don't have anything else to say right now. Um... eh, nope, I have nothing... happy reading!

THANKS FOR THE REVIEW!

BladeOfCrimson: Hello, my only reviewer! ...Did I ever tell you that you're awesome? XD Seriously though, thanks for the review and thanks for all the compliments! I'm glad my last update made your day, I hope this one does too! Thanks again!

_**Quote of the Chapter:**__ Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, 'I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.' _(Ann Landers)

_**Song of the Chapter:**__ Headstrong _(Trapt)

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own YGO. If I did though, it would be a much darker anime... probably rated M or something like that... but it would COMPLETELY kick ass. That is why I don't own YGO. XP_

Domino City, Forest Near the Park, Clearing

Slowly, deadly, the storm clouds churned over the park in waiting for their strength to grow and become the destructive forces of nature that had the potential to bring all of mankind to its knees. The skies rumbled angrily as the ancient power drew nearer... then, in a flash, a lightning bolt struck down with a simultaneous CRACK of thunder and a single being was deposited within a clearing to be left all on her own.

Sweat beading from her brow to mix with the cold rain, Samara immediately fell to her knees on the wet grass with hands holding her skull for dead life. Teeth gritted and eyes clamped shut, she pushed back the agony that was as sharp as a blade and stumbled back to her feet. Squinting, she forced her eyes to focus enough to vaguely figure out where she was... and to quickly decide that she couldn't really care less - she couldn't wait anymore, she had to do this now.

More collapsing beneath a tree than easing herself down, a groan trickled from the girl's lips as she shifted until her back rested against the trunk of the tree and her legs were crossed in a meditation-like style. Trying to force herself to relax, Samara closed her eyes and focused on the task at hand the best she could.

She found it more difficult than usual to make the separation, but, eventually, her boots touched down on the floor of the corridor between their rooms and pain finally stopped bombarding her skull. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Samara glanced to her yami's door that was left slightly ajar when it should have been closed completely - after all, she was in control of the body. Made of some sort of steel, the door carried many bents in its dull surface and two symbols were embossed into the top. On the very top was the same symbol that was on the Star, the Shen-Ring, but right below it was the Eye of Horus that look as though it had been carved by the use of a knife.

Samara had been in there before. She hadn't stayed there long... but it was... an experience that she'd never forget.

The walls had been similar to what one would expect from the inside of a Tomb - covered in symbols and pictures - only they were bathed in shadows... and blood. Faces drifted in and out of the darkness, giving the impressions of ghosts; ghosts of her past - the most repetitive of which being the face of a certain white haired Tomb Robber. A mystic chanting ran continuously through the air - the words so quiet that, at times, you couldn't even make them out - but, otherwise, her room held an eerie silence. There were so many details about the Sorceress' life, all summarized in small objects scattered here and there, but there is one thing that Samara remember quite vividly: a heart. Dangling from a chain attached to the ceiling, the end supported a rusted hook that pierced straight through the center of the heart... but, though ever so slightly, it was still managing to keep beating.

Everything in a soulroom is symbolic. Everything. There is nothing like a bed unless you 'summon' one into existence and, even then, it's a strain on your mind to keep it there. After Samara had first seen that heart, she just couldn't get it out of her head... and that would be when she had decided to let Sakira start speaking to her - in small doses at first, of course. Seeing the heart made Samara think that maybe the dark woman wasn't gone... that no one was completely lost in the darkness...

She was delusional, but at least it gave her someone to talk to once in a while.

Turning to her own room that had its half-wood and half-steel door open wide, Samara stepped into the doorway but didn't dare tread any further. Sakira had always been an incredibly sly woman... pretending otherwise was a good way to get yourself killed.

Samara's room, to be frank, baffled even her. The walls were a smooth black with white symbols embedded into its surface that were a mess of different languages - some symbols Arabic, some Egyptian, some English, a few Japanese, and most in a language foreign to almost anyone who laid eyes upon them. Empty picture frames of all shapes and sizes were scattered everywhere - some standing up, some lying down - and the one that DID have a picture in it was obviously of high importance to her as it was hung on the wall in a frame of gold: a picture of Shadi. In the middle of the room was a circle of candles surrounding a few long, black feathers as well as a few large, sapphire-like stones and a bag with travel stamps stuck all over it. Over in one corner was a bird cage with a wilting rose inside sitting upon a stain of blood in the creme carpet and, at the very far wall, there was a blue and red scale that stood from the floor to the ceiling with a white fire on one side and a black fire on the other.

This room always gave Samara a headache - for even she had yet to figure out just what everything meant for her. The language-thing on the walls were simple enough to figure out - they were the different languages she'd been taught over the years... mostly by Shadi which explained his picture because he played such a big part of her life. However, other things - such as the scale - were difficult to decode.

From where she stood in the doorway, Samara could hear her favorite songs playing just loud enough to be heard but not overwhelm. She had always loved music - it was just the perfect escape from reality while, at the same time, inspiring you to keep going. In any case, the volume was just perfect because she had a sinking feeling in her gut that she's going to need to be able to concentrate.

She growled as she watched a summoned glass half-empty of water float by in front of her, "Oh, that's funny," She snarled when, suddenly, a dagger whizzed by and imbedded itself in the doorframe next to her head. Annoyed, Samara's eyes narrowed at the weapon, "And that's just hilarious." She turned a cold glare to the figure that she could barely see in the shadowed corners of the room, "For some reason, I never recalled my soulroom being so hazardous to my health... or being such a smart-ass, for that matter."

The other chuckled slightly, "Things change, my weakling. Pharaoh's rise and fall, civilizations flourish and die... control of power shifts to more deserving masters."

"Well, that's nice of you to admit." Samara smirked, "I know it's been an adjustment for you to learn you're second-best, but I admire how you're actually willing to admit I'm better than you." She crossed her arms, "Now, your master is ordering you out of her soulroom, so, shoo." At that, a second dagger flew from the shadows and imbedded itself into the doorframe yet again, only this time it was on her other side. She sighed, "Okay, once is funny, twice is repetitive. Sakira, what do you want?"

"'What do I want'?" The Sorceress echoed with a coy smile, stepping out of the darkness as she spoke, "What ever makes you think I want something from you?"

Samara blinked, "...Is that a rhetorical question?"

"Hn... you're very cunning, my pathetic hikari, which is why the weakness in your heart is such a shame." She chuckled slightly, barely hearable, "You're one of the most complex mortals I've ever come up against - this soulroom of yours proves it. You have so many barriers in place, so many defenses to keep beings like me out... and why? Why is your past so worth hiding to you?" She smirked as she ran her hand through the black fire on the scales, "All of this is so... intriguing. So many pieces that appear to make so sense at all... somehow represent you." Holding out her hand, she revealed a small something in her palm: a baby bird that looked very much alive and real. "What is the meaning of this?"

Suddenly, Samara's heart froze, "Sakira, please... don't hurt it."

"What is the meaning of this?" She repeated.

The hikari bit her lip, "S-Someone... close to me... from my past."

"Who?"

The answer nearly slipped from her lips, but Samara forced herself to hold it back. Placing a deadly glare in her orbs, her hands balled into fists at her side as she snarled at the other with her, "Damn you, Sakira! I don't ask you to bring up details of your past, do I?! You talked, I listened, but I never asked!"

Her glare narrowed threateningly as she slowly closed her hand around the chirping bird - its cries growing louder and more frantic by the second - until she had a tight fist and a sickening crack was heard. A second later, wisps of purple smoke were leaking from her fingers.

"You bitch!" The hikari sprinted across the room with a fist at the ready to break the Sorceress' nose, but, with speed that she nearly didn't see, Sakira caught the younger's wrist in a firm hand. Murder was chiseled onto every feature of Samara's face as she watched a smirk pull across her yami's lips. "You're sick!" She snapped with a snarl, trying to ignore the loops of her stomach.

No, it wasn't a real animal and Samara knew it would just reappear soon enough somewhere else in her room... but for what it symbolized for her... she vowed that treating it in such a way would NOT go unpunished!

Sakira's smirk grew to a grin, "This is a new side of you." She commented as the younger ripped her arm back out of the Sorceress' grasp, "I must say, I'm impressed. ...Now, use that rage and fight me!"

Park, Clearing in the Forest

As turmoil raged within the mind of a young lady seated beneath an oak tree, the storm itself became just as chaotic. Lightning ripped across the dark sky as though partaking in some sort of dance, flashing light over the area time and time again with blistering sound accompanying it.

Then, as the storm raged on all around, a small section of ground in the middle of the clearing shifted slightly until it seemed to liquify into a pool of ripples. Ever so slowly, the robed head of an Egyptian man rose up through the rippling ground with his brow furrowed in concentration. A snap of lightning threatened him as it stuck a nearby tree, torturing the Keeper's ears with its deafening CRACK as well as assaulting his senses with the stink of burnt wood and leaves. Slightly, his concentration wavered and his rise followed suit, but like a whip he regained his senses and completed his spell until his feet touched solid ground once more.

His eyes snapped open just in time to watch the struck tree begin to lean with a mournful, creaking sound, then it broke away from its roots as it crashed to the ground... landing not three feet away from the unflinching Keeper.

Paying no heed to the storm, Shadi's stern gaze scanned the area carefully... until he found the one he sought. Though he had to work against the fierce wind to reach her, he wasted no time in closing the gap between them and, a mere moment later, he was kneeling by Samara's side studying the dark expression over her tanned features. The wind combed her hair wildly while she sat completely motionless, drawn deep into her own mind.

He could tell she was fighting her alter ego.

((Samara...)) His eyes narrowed sternly as he brushed a length of hair behind her ear carefully, ((Be wary, for Sakira's strength has grown... I feel it through the Balance... but you can still defeat her, I know you can.))

Samara's Soulroom

An explosion from the clash between two energies - one red, one a pale blue - rippled out from the center of the room, sending both figures backwards until one hit a wall and the other was sent flying onto her back.

Snarling, Samara pushed off from the wall behind her and snapped her arm out towards her yami across the room. A blue, electric-like current flew straight down her arm on the path set for it... and Sakira, having just pushed herself back onto her feet, only had time to lift her head before the energy snapped across her chest. Holding in a yell, this attack sent the ancient Sorceress flying backwards only to hit the scales on the opposite side of the room... though this time she managed to stay standing.

"F-Face it... Sakira..." Samara spoke between breathes as sweat beaded down the sides of her face, "...I-I'm still stronger than you."

"Pathetic fool!" Named spirit growled where she was, "Do you think you can defeat me so easily?!" She rose her hand... and Samara gasped as she felt a pressure wrap itself around her neck. "I know more than just how to bend the magic of my soul to my will..." In a flick of a wrist, Samara was forced back against the same wall as before... only this time she couldn't move a muscle. A smirk on her lips, Sakira confidently closed the gap between them, "...There are many other tricks that a Sorceress like myself can do."

"T-Tricks... eh?" Samara cringed slightly, but soon a blue aura outlined her form, "...DO YOU KNOW PLAY DEAD?!" And her body practically erupted with a brilliant blast of energy that viciously broke Sakira's hold on her... but left the hikari breathing hard for oxygen that didn't even exist in her soulroom. She didn't need air here – she gasped for energy instead. "S-See...?" She didn't move from her spot at the wall, practically using it to support herself, "Y-You ca... you c-can't... w-win." The same energy began to crackle around her hands again, "I... I w-won't... l-let y-you." She clenched a fist and threw a punch... only to gasp in pain as Sakira grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm harshly.

The yami smirked as her hikari's knees began to tremble, so she twisted the arm a bit more until it threatened to either break or dislocate... and her smirk only grew into a grin as a agonized groan escaped Samara's lips against the girl's will. Blue energy snapped against the Sorceress in protest, but it was much weaker now to the point where Sakira just ignored it. The girl had used all her power to break free of the Sorceress' hold... and now she would pay for such foolishness.

"Get on your knees, Samara... there is no shame in admitting yourself weaker than the next ruler of this mortal world."

When the girl began to fight her own pain to stop her trembling legs from kneeling, Sakira snarled darkly and she twisted the arm the final bit to spur that sickening SNAP which was accompanied by a chilling scream of pain. The yami immediately released her hold, letting her hikari collapse to the floor clutching her arm painfully. Teeth gritted and eyes clamped shut, Samara had to bite her own tongue to stop herself from yelling again. It was bad enough she had already yelled out once... she wouldn't do it a second time.

"...Don't you see?" Sakira shook her head in disappointment as she crouched down on one knee next to the girl, one arm resting over her bent leg casually. "Samara, you are meant to lose this fight. Fate has shown us its cards, laid down the path... it is chiseled into stone. The plane, the earthquake, the appearance of Bakura... these occurrences are no coincidence - the time has come for me to set things in motion once again. My destiny was already decided before I took my first breath, as was yours decided for you." Slowly, she cupped the girl's chin, forcing the other to look at her, "You can be so blind... so much like how I used to be. My dear girl, maybe you should stop denying the inevitable and look at the chance you have... a chance to stand on the right-hand side of the greatest Sorceress ever to walk the Earth."

Samara sneered... and, in a flash, she sharpened her mind once again. Practically throwing her weight against Sakira, the two returned to their feet as Samara pushed her dark half backwards straight across the room and pinned her beneath one of the arms of the scale... only for her eyes to suddenly widen in surprise.

Sakira grinned as she matched her glare with her hikari's agonized stare, "...It is unwise to get close to someone like me."

The girl swallowed back the taste of blood on her tongue as her gaze fell to her chest... where the streams of magic still trailed around the handle of a newly-summoned dagger. Unbelieving, Samara's hand tenderly came to grasp the blade, only for it to evaporate at her touch - leaving the bleeding wound and a pierced, breathless lung in its wake.

"Your soul is strong - you'll live." Sakira spoke rather confidently as she took the collar of the other's shirt in her fist, "I still need you to finish some unresolved business between myself and Shadi, after all, so killing you now would be rather pointless at the moment."

A blast of red energy suddenly exploded from the yami's room to cut across the corridor and stream straight into Samara's soulroom. Like a blade, the force sliced a hole in the wall that would have opened a path to the farthest depths of the hikari's mind and soul... but all the gash revealed was a black pit.

The very second it was created, Sakira whipped the wounded other around and threw her through the hole without a second thought. Barely letting Samara's tumble body to stop rolling across the black floor, the Sorceress actually appeared rather solemn as she narrowed her eyes on the broken figure.

"This black abyss is your creation..."

Cringing in agony, the girl struggled to lift her glare to the other, "S-Sakira..."

"...And so it is here that you will stay."

"S-SAKIRA!"

Then the hole sealed up... and all that Samara heard was her echo of her own call falling back onto her ears until she was claimed by her own fatigue.

Park, Clearing in the Forest

((Something's wrong.)) Shadi's brow furrowed as he felt the darkness within the girl before him growing stronger by the minute, then he made a decision.

Taking the Millennium Key into his hold, Shadi shivered against the driving rain and wind as he lifted his Item towards the girl he had known for the past eight years. His lips pressed into a tight line, the Keeper prepared himself for a difficult battle against the Dark Sorceress and brought the Key a mere inch from Samara's forehead... only to freeze as the Shen suddenly burst into existence over her brow. The girl's eyes flashed wide open - revealing a white-eyed stare instead of the usual mix - as a wave-like motion drew the remaining lines of her Item over her features... and Shadi hastily dropped his Key.

((The Star reacted to my Key!)) He observed in awe, ((It's calling upon a spirit to take control of the body...))

His icy stare wide in disbelief, the Tomb Keeper could only watch helplessly as ink-black hair began to pale to grey as it flew wildly in the wind - concealing her face from view most of the time. The storm worsened the more the hair changed, but Shadi refused to move from her side, hoping beyond hope that he could still reach her in some way.

He placed a hand on her limp arm, "Samara, you must hear me!" He called over the horrific storm, "You must regain control! You have to do as I say and control your Item! Samara, you must stop Sakira at all costs!"

Shadi cringed as a blast of thunder nearly deafened him with a lightning bolt striking the ground too close for comfort, but Samara remained as still as death where she sat beneath the tree. However, even with that startling crack of lightning, the Keeper did note that the viciousness of the weather appeared to be dying down. Allowing a small bead of hope to touch the surface of his thoughts that Samara had somehow managed to pull through in the end, Shadi shifted to brush her hair back behind her ear to see the proof in her mix-matched eyes. Though, before he could, a quick flash cut across his vision and he was sent sprawling onto his back on the grass behind him. With one hand held tenderly against his sore cheek, Shadi's eyes were wide as his gaze swept up to the woman that now stood above him.

Crisp white hair in wavy lengths now replacing that of black, demonic energy crackled around her form as she took full control of her host's body for the very first time. A cruel smirk plastered on her lips, the dark symbols on her face slowly faded away as her gaze - no longer holding a duo-coloration but now were a simple dark-blue color that was much like his own - flickered to the forest around her briefly before finally settling on the Keeper completely.

Even though she looked more than out of place in her hikari's modern-day clothes, such a fact didn't seem to waver her confidence - or arrogance - in even the slightest way. "Well, well... if it isn't the my favorite Tomb Keeper: Shadi." Her smirk grew to a grin as the other slowly rose to his feet. She eyed him up and down for a short moment, then she chuckled as she tossed a length of white hair over her shoulder. "...You're shorter than I expected."

"Sakira," Shadi 'greeted' darkly as he locked glares with the Sorceress. "What have you done to Samara? If you've harmed her in even the slightest way I swear by the Gods of Egypt that–!"

"–Please, the brat is as pig-headed as you... how else would I have claimed her body?" She admired her nails, "I must admit, for a mortal girl she put up a very good fight... and now I suppose you wish to challenge me as well?" Her eyes fell half-lidded in a 'you've got to be joking' manner, "Are you sure you're heart won't give out, old man?" The fact he was only in his late-twenties didn't seem to matter when it came to her nickname for the Keeper - one she had used more than just a few times in the past.

Shadi took a single step forward with ever-narrowing eyes, "Sorceress, you were partially defeated three thousand years ago... do not tempt fate and try again."

Her gaze narrowed coldly against his own, "Do not presume to know me, Tomb Keeper, it's an insult to my legend. Tell the truth, Shadi: Thanks to the Priests of the High Council those many years ago, you have no record of who I am, what I did, or what I'm capable of. Do you? You know my name - or, at least, my current name - and that for one reason or another I am not to be released, isn't that true? All you guard is lies and things you don't understand! What kind of joke of a line did you descend from in order to be charged with something like that?"

His eyes narrowed to match hers, "It was and is the honor of my family to keep the likes of you imprisoned. All through the generations, we have upheld the sacred duty given onto us by our Pharaoh... and I will not be the one to let that break."

"Like you have a choice." She smirked again, "With the Star of Humanoptra around my neck and the energy supplied to me by Bakura... you don't stand a hope in Hell of defeating me."

"You will not prevail against two Millennium Items," Shadi cut back, "For do not forget that I bear both the Key and the Scales. Keep that in mind as you choose your fate, Sorceress, and make the right choice: return to your soulroom at once."

"Do you honestly think you scare me with those toys?" The Sorceress grinned as the wind made her hair fly wildly around her, "Even with two Items to help you... I will still be taking the honor of breaking you."

"Even if I do fall - which I will not - Samara will succeed where I fail."

"Please, don't overestimate my hikari." Sakira laughed with a wave of her hand, "She is nothing but a puppet in my show from now on. I have already battled her and, though her soul is still alive, she is as far as defeated to my eyes."

The Eye of Horus came to Shadi's brow as he withdrew the Scales from his robes, both of his Items taking on a bright glow. "I know that she has more power than what you could possibly understand, so, here, I say this: don't underestimate her - she will surprise you."

"You speak as if you know her, but truth be told you know just about as much about the weakling as I do." Sakira's smirk merely grew as the Star took on its gloomy glow and the Shen reappeared on her forehead. "However, it doesn't matter. After you're out of my way, I will then traverse back to Egypt to reclaim the Bracelets of Queen's Valley. I will be unstoppable... and everyone set against me will suffer under my hand until I allow them to be claimed by Anubis himself!"

"It will never happen."

"Let's just see about that." She grinned and threw her arm upwards towards the stormy skies. The Star took on a gloomy glow as dark magic leaked from its edges and surged up her risen arm where it massed... only to then take shape as a black Duel Disk. She chuckled darkly as she lowered her arm, "I've been itching to try these new devices out since I first saw them being used in Europe."

Shadi's stare narrowed. He knew it wasn't a real version of the device, simply one created from her dark magic, but he wasn't pleased by this. After all, this had not been his intension... he had been anticipating a mind-field battle, not this. ((She's well-schooled with her Item to create such a thing with perfect ease... do you suppose we could make one of those as well?))

Karim grunted, ( ) I refuse to not be able to do something that she can, so, yes, we can do it. ( )

))No harm in trying, at the very least.(( Was Shada's first input, only to then continue as an after-thought, ))Though, in all honesty, Shadi, are you sure this is wise? You've never Dueled formally before.((

((...Gather your energy.))

A determined set to his orbs, Shadi lifted his arm in the same fashion, the loose fabric of his sleeves falling to gather at his shoulder, "By the magic of the Millennium Key and the Millennium Scales, let it be done!" His two Items glowed brightly before the blinding energy surged upwards to gather at his arm in much the same fashion as she had done, only his was coloured gold when it was formed.

Sakira laughed as the Keeper lowered his arm, his usually cold stare furrowed now in concentration and uncertainty. "Very good, Shadi. This should be amusing, at the very least!" She called, her Item's glow fading as the numbers lite up on the screen - her deck having already been created and in place by the same magic she had used to create the device itself. "If you win, the ownership of the Star will shift to you, ergo I will return to my Item and my hikari will regain control over her body. If I win," A devilish smile grew, "Then I gain ownership of both of your Millennium Items."

Shadi didn't respond right away, his gaze locked on the thing attached to his arm. The Life Points were already glowing and his deck was already set into place, created card by card from the will of his own soul. The golden Disk... it reminded him of a similar device that his father had used, a dia-diankh... only that had been real gold surging with magic, its creation dating back to the days of Pharaoh Atemu. This monstrosity on his arm was created by magic, true enough, but it was nothing more than a machine of modern day.

Shadi's stare narrowed, pushing back the memories of the day his father had used that ancient item... the day he had died. ((That was so long ago...))

))Not that long, Shadi.((

( ) You look like him, you know. ( )

((That's enough.)) He returned sternly as he returned the Scales into his robes to free up his hand. Determined, his stare grew even more cutting as he matched glares with the Sorceress opposing him. "So let it be done." He repeated as his answer.

She smiled, "Excellent."

Then both voices rose at once, "DIAHA!"

City Streets

Yugi was just a corner away from the Game Shop, but he stood still as a statue in the middle of the sidewalk as the rain poured down onto him. Hands cupped around the Puzzle, he could almost feel the pulsation of its aura against his palms as he kept his gaze on the raging sky above. Something didn't feel quite right and he knew Yami could feel it too. Originally, it had been a burst of strange magic in the area that had made the teen stop, but, even with that energy long-since faded, something about this storm had turned ominous. It was like a dark blanket had enveloped the city... and it all seemed focused over the park.

((Can you feel anything else, Yami?)) He asked through their mind-link, his violet gaze turning to see the regal duplicate standing beside him in his spirit form.

Yugi had to squash a smile from rising at the sight of him. The Pharaoh's eyes hadn't been this alert since their duel at the Shrine. It was as if he was finally awake again... and it was about time!

The Pharaoh's glare narrowed, ))No, there's no sign of anything anymore... perhaps – wait!(( He spun, staring off down the street that they had just walked, ))I feel...((

Yugi frowned when his other didn't continue, his own gaze turning path from which he had came, ((What is it?))

Yami stiffened with hands clenching at his sides, his gaze locked on the drowned city behind them. However, before he could say anything, a transport trunk rolled across the intersection down the road - a white-haired someone crouched readily on the back bumper with one arm stretched-out above him to keep hold of a handle beside the rolling door. It took a mere second, then, as quick as the Thief was there, he disappeared out of sight with the trunk behind a building.

Yugi frowned, "...I'll take that as a bad sign."

The other glared at the disappeared form before lifting his crimson glare to the skies, ))...The storm is centered over the park... and that seems to be Bakura's direction as well.((

Yugi smirked, forgetting he was talking to thin air according to those around him - earning him many a concerned glance from onlookers. "Then let's go see what's going on."

Crimson met violet, ))Yugi... it could be dangerous.((

"Okay." And, with that, he forcefully shoved Yami in control of the body, ((You can handle it then.)) Yugi smiled, now transparent beside his slightly-startled other half, ((Besides, we wouldn't want to be left out of the loop with recent happenings, would we?))

The Pharaoh smirked.

Clearing in Park

Ignoring the driving rain, Sakira scanned her drawn cards with a confident smirk, "You may begin."

"Very well." He drew, then he studied his given hand, ((This is my only chance to prevent this disaster from spreading any further. I must act quickly, before the Bearers are drawn here, otherwise these past years have been for not.)) His stare narrowed, ((I will not fail.)) He chose his cards carefully, "I summon Gravekeeper's Curse (800/800)." When a mage dressed in a long, black cloak appeared on the field holding a blue and white cane, Shadi's heavy glare met Sakira's as he spoke to his creature. "Go, Gravekeeper, and show this spirit your brutality in the name of the Pharaoh!"

"Not so fast, Keeper," Sakira smirked, arms crossed, "You can't attack me on your first turn. Such a shame for placing such a weak monster in attack mode though... it'll be my pleasure to tear it apart when–"

"–Silence." Shadi interrupted swiftly, a cold look invading his eyes, "Do not think that I am blind to this replica-game of the ancient duels, I know how they are played." His stare turned to his monster, now outlined in a green aura, "I have watched from the shadows as other Bearers participated in these exchanges. I have seen how they rise in victory and fall in defeat. My deck was created card by card through the will of my own soul and, for such, I know the powers of the creatures that are assisting me." His stare shifted back to the Sorceress, each orb filled with determination and warning. "Gravekeeper's Curse is no different. I called on him because of his special ability, one which allows him to inflict 500 points of damage against you immediately following his summoning." His eyes narrowed, "Do not make the mistake of underestimating me, Sorceress. I am a decedent of a long line of Tomb Keepers and I am by no means the weakest link in the chain!"

As though suddenly coming out of some deep trance, the dark-skinned Duel Monster's eyes flew wide as he threw his arm outwards, channeling the power that surged around him straight down his chosen path. Sakira gritted her teeth as the power flew around her, engulfing her, in its green blanket. The power of the monster surged around her form, sparking angrily against her until her Life Points dropped to 3500 and, at that exact instant, the magic simply vanished.

Shadi picked his final cards, "I play two cards face-down and I'll end my turn."

The woman scowled, "My turn then." She drew, then flipped her eyes to her opponent, "For all your ranting, I do believe that you have failed to take your own advice in regard to my own skill and power. There are many things that you don't know about me, Keeper, being oblivious to that fact will be your downfall." Sakira picked her cards, "I'll start by activating a personal favorite of mine: Card Destruction." She said with a smile, showing her opponent the card caught between two of her fingers, "I'll assume you know what it does." As Shadi did the exchange with his two cards, Sakira traded in her hand of five cards for a new five from her deck. She smirked, "Next, I'll be throwing down a card of my own before summoning... Pyramid Turtle (1200/1400) in attack mode!"

The ground suddenly buckled before exploding upwards, creating a whirlwind of rocks and dirt for a split second. When the field settled again, a giant turtle with a golden pyramid as its shell stood solidly in front of the Sorceress, dwarfing the small Spellcaster across from it.

She chuckled, grin spreading, "Alright, beautiful. Take down his creature with your Sandstorm Assault!"

As the Zombie threw back its head, Shadi stepped forward against the attack, "I unlock the Book of Moon!"

At his words, one of his face-down cards flipped up, revealing a magic card depicting an ancient, blue-surface book, and, just before a blast of sand whipped across the field from the turtle's mouth, the Gravekeeper's Curse knelt down into defense mode. The sand stung against him all the same, the monster on the field groaning in pain as the attack swirled around him before its image shattered, leaving Shadi's side of the field wide open saver that single face-down card.

Sakira's smirk merely grew, "Your magic card may have protected your Life Points with its little maneuver, but I'm afraid that, since a monster was indeed sent to the Graveyard, you activated my trap." The card she had played face-down flipped up, "I activate Coffin Seller, which means that for every one of your monsters that get sent to your Graveyard, you must pay a toll of 300 Life Points."

He gritted his teeth as his Points fell to 3700.

The Sorceress crossed her arms, "My turn has ended. Now, show me what Tomb Keepers are capable of."

"Your monster will fall as surely as you will." He drew, only for a lighter look to invade his eye for a split second before it was replaced by determination. He picked another card from his hand first, "I summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (1500/1000) in attack mode."

Like the last Gravekeeper, this shorter being appeared in a cloak of black, only he wielded a spear which carried two golden snakes curling around its handle all the way up to the head of the weapon. He spun it expertly in his hold as he settled himself onto the field, smirking confidently across to the Turtle.

"Now, I shall offer him the gift I just drew from my deck: Phalanx Pike." He matched the Sorceress' stare, "With this card, my Soldier gains 900 attack points for each monster of the same name in my Graveyard and, thanks to your Card Destruction, one Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier has already fallen in this duel."

The spear once carried by the Soldier took on a brilliant glow as it changed shape, forming a golden, jeweled replacement. The Gravekeeper spun it around him, showing his talents as he got a feel for his new weapon and his attack strength rose to 2400.

Shadi threw his arm out toward the smirking Sorceress, "Go! Attack Pyramid Turtle and bring me closer to victory!"

With those words, the Gravekeeper's suddenly crouched to the ground before it jumped up high above the weaker monster, eyeing it from above. Then, drawing back its arm, the being threw his spear down against the Zombie and blasted it with its white power as the weapon cut straight through the creature's body. The Turtle gave an agonized growl as it disintegrated and the Gravekeeper landed where it had once stood - reclaiming his spear before returning to Shadi's side of the field.

Sakira cringed in pain as her Points rolled down to 2800.

Shadi's stare narrowed, "Had enough, Sorceress?"

The woman gave a wild grin as she straightened, spurring a dark chuckle from her throat, "'Had enough'?! We have only just begun! For now I will activate my Pyramid Turtle's special ability and special summon a monster from my deck!" Pulling out her deck, she scanned her cards briefly before taking her pick, "This one... in defensive mode." And she placed it facedown on the field. She laughed as Shadi's brow furrowed, "Not to worry, with the limitations of Pyramid Turtle's effect, the Zombie could only possibly have a maximum of 2000 defensive points." She grinned sinisterly, "How hard can destroying something like that be?"

((2000 defense... but her card said nothing about the attack strength.)) Shadi's brow furrowed, ((Just what is she planning?))

( )Come on, Shadi. If its defense is that weak, your creature can destroy it easily next turn.( )

((There is little else for me to do right now as it is. I have no choice but to let this sit for a turn.)) He closed his eyes, "I will destroy your monster next turn, for now I will simply end this one."

"Good for you." She drew, "Well, since your monster is so powerful..." She smirked, "I'll just toss down another defensive monster and let you take it from here."

"Then this duel will not take long." Shadi retorted as he drew his card, "First, I shall discard my drawn card, Gravekeeper's Commandant (1600/1500), to the Graveyard in order to release his special ability. With his sacrifice, I can bring this card from my deck to my hand: Necrovalley."

Sakira growled, "Ah, shit."

"And now I shall unleash its magic onto the field." Sliding the card into the field slot on his duel disk, Shadi watched the field change with stone walls, engravings, and statues. "It will shift the field until it is I that gains the advantage. With this in play, all trap, magic, or effects that involve the Graveyards are negated and neither of us can remove cards in the Graveyard from play. In addition, all of my monsters that bear 'Gravekeeper' in their titles are given an additional 500 points."

As the field settled into its new scenery, Spear Soldier basked in its new found strength as its power rose to 2900/1500.

"Next, I summon Gravekeeper's Assailant (1500/1500) to the field."

In a flash of black fabric, a second monster took the field with a curved blade held tightly in her hand as her power rose to 2000/2000 with the help of Necrovalley. With a black cloth across her face, the creature glared across to the Sorceress in cold contempt as she took place beside the Spear Soldier.

"I will now use Spear Soldier to attack your special summoned defense monster." His eyes narrowed against his opponent, "With nearly 3000 attack points, he will destroy whichever monster you had chosen to bring forth earlier."

Like before, the being crouched down before springing up high above the field. Throwing his spear, it streamed down on the facedown card... and the image of a mummy wrapped in red cloth appeared briefly before shattering to pieces. The next thing the Keeper knew, he was gritting his teeth in pain as a red aura enveloped his being - dragging his Life Points down to 3200.

As the aura faded off, so did the sting in his chest and, at that instant, he lifted a cold glare to the Sorceress... a reaction that made the being in question chuckle darkly.

"What's with the look?" She grinned, "You destroyed my Poison Mummy (1000/1900) so you take 500 direct damage."

Shadi stiffened, "Very well, but my turn isn't through!"

Her grin spread, ))I was hoping you were going to say that, fool.((

"Now, Assailant, attack her other creature!"

The Gravekeeper crouched down and sprinted forward, her blade striking out... and Sakira burst out laughing at the top of her lunges. "Well done, Keeper! Now, take a look at your prize!"

Shadi stiffened, his glare turning to the field and the monster being destroyed... only for his eyes to widen. "No!"

"Yes! Say 'hello' to Cyber Jar (900/900)!" Her grin grew, if it was even possible, "Unfortunately, it has never really play well with others."

The entire field exploded in a fiery inferno - the sheer force throwing Shadi's robes all around him as he rose an arm as though he could use it to shield himself. Teeth gritted, he held strong as the final surge of energy split against him from the center of the field with such strength that his turban loosened from around his head, allowing a brown lock to fall over his face.

Sakira chuckled as the empty field quieted, "You seem to be unraveling over there, Keeper. Need a break?" She grinned, "Too bad. Let us continue, shall we? With Cyber Jar's effect, all monsters have been destroyed from the field and now we each get to draw five cards. If we happen upon any level four or lower monsters, then they're immediately summoned. The other cards are added to our hands." She drew and glanced over her cards, "Looks like I'll be summoning three monsters... and all throw them all into facedown defensive mode." She smirked across to her opponent, "Just to keep you guessing."

( ) Great, now we're being mocked by someone erased from history. This has got to be a new low... ( )

))Karim, just shut up for once. You're of no aid at all.((

Shadi's brow tensed, ((Neither of you are, so be quiet.))

))But, Shadi–((

((I said: enough!)) He drew his cards, ((This is my duel and I will defeat her my way.))

Shada quieted for a moment, only to try again, ))Shadi, please, be sensible. You have no dueling experience and we do. Even if it was ancient Egypt, this game is the same concept as the battles back then. Allow me to duel in your place, Shadi. I have always told you that Karim and I are here to aid you in any way we can and I believe that now would be–((

((Enough!)) His mind sharpened like a blade, a coldness suddenly taking over his tone, ((I have never allowed you to control me, nor will I ever, Shada.)) He dropped the name like a silent curse, ((Do not forget what I have already done for you, so mind your place and do not bother me again.)) He forced himself to concentrate, "I will be bringing forth four monsters. Two I shall lie in defensive mode, then I will summon Mystic Lamp (400/300) and Royal Keeper (1600/1700) in attack mode." He threw out his arm, "Mystic Lamp, attack her directly!"

Sakira groaned as little purple smoke suddenly appeared around her, curling around her form like a constricting snake – her Life Points rolling down to 2400.

"Royal Keeper, now it is your turn. Attack her facedown monster on the far left!"

The decayed warrior buckled down before charging swiftly across the field, its lance slicing clean through the defensive monster even as it appeared on the field: another Pyramid Turtle.

The Sorceress smirked, "Looks like I'll be tossing down another Zombie monster from my deck." A second later, a new facedown monster appeared on the field to replace the one just destroyed. "Having fun yet?"

Shadi's glare darkened, "Are you afraid to face me?"

Her smirk died there and then, her tone turning acidic in a flash, "What did you just say to me?"

"Don't deny what you've been doing this whole duel." He returned sharply, "Cowering with your facedown monsters like you are... I thought you were supposed to be the greatest threat to have ever risen against my Pharaoh? Against humanity?" His eyes narrowed, "Where is this power of yours, Sakira? For I certainly cannot see it."

( ) Damn right! ( )

))Shadi, this is not wise...!((

"You fool!" Her eyes flashed with anger, "You dare to insult me?! To claim I am afraid of pitiful trash like you...!" She shook her head, "Are you INSANE?! I'd fear the Pharaoh's runt before I fear you, you pathetic mortal scum! I'll tear you apart, old man!"

Shadi's look sharpened, "More words and more facedown cards then?"

"Imbecile, you actually–!" She suddenly stopped, eyes widening for a moment... only for her entire body to relax all at once, eyes sliding shut. "Well, well... congratulations, Shadi, your little scheme nearly worked." She lifted her stare to his, smirking, "To get me and my temper working against my very own deck... how clever. I was all set to focus all my tricks on strength alone, ignoring the fact that my cards are strongest shrouded in mystery." She drew, "Flip effects, disturbance strategies, tricks and traps... all concealed within a fog you can't bypass. Hn." She teetered the card caught between her fingers from side to side, thinking, "I suppose there is a reason why my soul created my deck the way it is... it is much suiting of me." Sakira's smirk grew, "But I will admit you to be right on one account, my dear Keeper..." She grinned devilishly, "I can't spend the whole day playing around, I have things to do. Therefore," She flipped the card for him to see, "Meteor of Destruction, take him down a notch!"

Shadi gritted his teeth in strain, arms held up in defense as a fury of fiery meteors stormed against him, exploding the area where he stood into a blazing inferno. Eyes shut tight, he held against the spell the best he could... only for a scream of pain to rip from his throat against his will as he sank to his hands and knees. Chest heaving for breath, Shadi cringed in fading pain as a mocking voice reached his ears.

"That would be a thousand notches to be precise." She chuckled, eyes sliding shut, "Seems I've gained the lead, if only by 200 points."

((N-No!)) Shadi's form shook as he felt his energy drain away, brown hair clinging to his face with rain and sweat, ((...No, I won't allow this to go on!)) He forced his eyes open to stare at the wet grass beneath him, his brow twitching in strain, ((This is unacceptable! I won't be the weakest link! I won't be!))

"What's the matter, old man?" Sakira's smirk grew, "Can't you stand anymore?"

The Keeper visibly stiffened, ((I can't fail my family. Three thousand years of tradition rest on my shoulders alone. It is... my burden to bear... my burden to uphold... in the name of my ancestors...))

( ) Take it easy, Shadi. ( ) Karim spoke through their mind-link, his tone trying its best to be soothing, ( ) Stay focused on the duel. You can go back to your duties later. ( )

((Do you not understand? This duel is my duty!))

))You can't think like that now. You have to focus on this present duel, not the past nor the future, understand?(( When silence was his answer, Shada's voice grew sterner, ))Shadi, do you understand?((

((I... I do.))

( ) Then get back on your damn feet! ( )

Gritting his teeth, Shadi slowly pushed himself back up, careful to keep his balance. He wouldn't give Sakira the pleasure of watching him stagger or sway in the midst of a duel. His hand reaching up, he brushed his hair out of his eyes... only to give in to the gusting wind that was working against him at this point. Taking the cloth, he pulled it from his head, allowing thick, brown hair to fall down to his shoulders where it blew wildly in the wind. He ignored the curious look he was receiving from the Sorceress as he tucked the long, scarf-like cloth into his robes to put on again later.

"Continue your move." He instructed sternly.

She seemed to hesitate, "...Very well." The field card slot opened on her duel disk, "Welcome to Zombie World, Shadi." A smirk pulled onto her lips., "Which means you can say goodbye to your Necrovalley."

A ripple passed over the field as the very buildings of majesty that surrounded them began to crumble into black dust, unearthing bones and corpses beneath. The moon pulled on a blanket of swirling fog overhead as dead trees creaked into existence in the place of monuments, their shadows crawling onto the field like bony fingers. Fire and lava spewed from small volcanos, sending smoke and soot into the air as small creatures scurried from here to there.

Sakria chuckled as an unmistakable expression passed over the Keeper's face: disgust. Arms crossed, she eyed him up and down, "Not a fan of change, are you?" She chuckled again, tone filled with malice intent, "Welcome to my world. Here, all monsters on the field and in our Graveyards become Zombie types."

Shadi's stare narrowed, "So you are infecting my deck so it consists of nothing but Zombies?" He scowled, "Why? My deck consists of a few Zombies already, Royal Keeper being one of them."

"Ah, but Royal Keepers - and, I'm betting, your others - are below level four. Meaning they doesn't require sacrifices."

"What is your point, Sorceress?"

"My point is that, for now on, we can only tribute summon Zombie types. However, the true purpose of Zombie World is a simple one: to get rid of that bothersome Necrovalley card of yours." She chuckled darkly, "So, what do you think of your new Zombie Lamp?"

Shadi frowned, his gaze shifting to see his lamp of gold... that had instead taken a rotten shell of putrid flesh, a black liquid oozing out from beneath its lid and out its spout. The Keeper's hands fists, "How dare you...!" His eyes flew to hers, "You stripped it of its pride!"

"I couldn't have, Keeper... no monster that listens to you has any pride to begin with." She chuckled, "Next I'm testing out my Special Hurricane! It destroys every special summoned monster on the field!"

Shadi frowned as a whirlwind enveloped the field, his robes and hair flying around him wildly as he just tried to keep his footing. Not seconds later, seven bolts of white energy struck each of the creatures on the field. Royal Keeper and Mystic Lamp disintegrated right where they stood as Shadi's other monsters were forced to reveal themselves before shattering as well: a Gravekeeper's Vassal (700/500) and a Sand Moth (1000/2000). Sakira's three monsters revealed themselves next: Skull-Mark Ladybug (500/1500), Goblin Zombie (1100/1050), and Mezuki (1700/800). They, like the Keeper's, disintegrated within the white beam, leaving the field completely empty.

The Keeper frowned, "Why? You just destroyed your own army as well as mine."

"'Why'?" She echoed back, "Like I said: it's time to stop playing around. Now that Necrovalley is destroyed, its effect over the Graveyard has lifted... allowing my Coffin Seller to do its thing once again!"

Shadi groaned as a blast of energy whipped across from the trap card, striking him with 1200 points damage as his points rolled down to 1000.

"Your mistake was that Necrovalley negated my card's effect - it did not destroy it." She chuckled, "A truly rookie mistake, Keeper. Now, as for my own monsters, the fact they were destroyed only adds to their usefulness!"

The Keeper cringed slightly as he rose his gaze to the Sorceress, one of his hands clutching his chest, "What do you mean?"

She grinned, "Well, lets find out, shall we? When Skull-Mark Ladybug is destroyed from the field and is sent to the Graveyard, my Life Points get a 1000 point boost!" She watched her points reach back up to 3400. "Next, when Goblin Zombie bites the dust, I get to pick any Zombie type monster with no more than 1200 defense points and add it to my hand." Picking her card, she chuckled, "Lastly is Mezuki, a very special equine indeed. When he falls into the Graveyard, I can remove him from play to special summon any Zombie in my Graveyard to the field."

Shadi's eyes narrowed, mind racing through the monsters he had destroyed so far... only for his eyes to suddenly widen. ((Card Destruction!))

"By the looks of you, you've finally caught on." Sakira commented, arms crossed firmly over her chest, "Too bad its too late. I've already called for my beast."

A shiver trailed up Shadi's spine as blue smoke began to creep onto the field, the wisps tangling around his ankles and clouding his view of his opponent. "What beast?" He demanded to know, "Sakira, answer me! Sakira!" He called into the fog, but his voice almost seemed to dissolve against the blanket that now concealed everything around him. Suddenly, the Keeper caught sight of a movement amongst the thick cloak, "What did you summon, Sorceress?!"

The booming cry of a Dragon was his response, a blast of wind surging against the Keeper with just a single beat of wings that dissolved the fog in an instant, letting the wisps settle back on the ground where they had started before. Shadi braced himself against the wind that died an instant later, his eyes locked on the massive, rotting Dragon that hovered midair across from him. Eyes glowing a cursed red, the beast of dull red and black scales snarled at the Keeper before it, revealing teeth yellow and black with decay.

"Red Eyes Zombie Dragon (2400/2000), so good of you to join us." Sakira chuckled darkly, "You're just in time to tear away the last of this fool's Life Points!"

"My Sand Moth will rise to protect me!" Shadi stepped forward, "Because it was sent to the Graveyard without first engaging in battle, Sand Moth revives onto the field once more, only with its attack and defense points reversed."

A swirl of sand rose on Shadi's side of the field to bring forth the grotesque beast, its points flipping as it gave out a shrill cry to become 2000/1000. However, sand suddenly became putrid, rotting flesh as the effect of Zombie World kicked in, turning the Rock type into a Zombie.

Sakira scowled, "No matter! I have this to summon with thanks to Goblin Zombie, don't forget!" She picked a card from her hand, "Gernia (1300/1200), come out to play, would you?" With those words, a grotesque Zombie with skin of white and red emerged onto the field, its horns and claws deathly sharp. Sakira threw out her arm, her hand coming into a tight fist, "Now, Zombie Dragon, disintegrate that worthless insect with your Acidic Flare Blast!"

A ball of clear liquid came into existence within the Dragon's mouth as it reared its head back and brought it forward again, blasting its attack across the field with all the fury it was capable of.

Shadi's brow furrowed, "I activate my trap!"

Sakira's eyes widened, "WHAT?!"

"Did you forget about the facedown card I played at the beginning of this duel? It'll save me from your attack!" He threw out his arm, "Activate Wobaku!" Three priestesses appeared amongst a soft, white light - their forms completely concealed in pale blue cloaks. "With this in play, I receive zero damage from any of your monsters this turn."

The Sorceress sneered, "Fine! But my attack still goes through!"

The very instant the attack hit the Moth, flames burst into existence before an explosion shook the field - blasting the victim into oblivion.

"But your little Sand Moth won't be gone for long." A smirk twitched onto her lips, "You see, any Zombie type destroyed by my Dragon rises again on my side of the field!"

As a red glow surrounded the Red Eyes, a rotting corpse suddenly pulled itself out from beneath the earth as though it had been lying there on its stomach this entire time. Groaning, the Moth pushed itself up on all fours before it lurched up to stand on its two feet, its presence dwarfed by the more magnificent creature beside it. Since its previous effect wasn't activated this time, its attack and defense points remained as 1000/2000 as it stood in attack mode.

"Your move." The Sorceress scoffed, tossing her wet hair back behind her shoulder, "Your last one."

((I pray that is not the case.)) Shadi's brow furrowed as he glanced over his two cards, ((However, neither of these cards can help me. Thousand Energy wouldn't do any good even if I did have a level two monster on the field...))

))Your other card can help you, your Ritual Card.((

( ) The odds aren't exactly in our favor, Shada. We need the second Ritual Card and we'd have to pull it now! ( )

Shadi gave a nearly silent sigh, ((...I must make this turn count. If I don't...)) He placed his two fingers on his deck, ((...Then all has been for not.))

( ) Here goes nothing. ( )

))Here goes everything.((

((Gods, guide me. Show me what I must do to defeat this witch...)) He drew, only for a slight smirk to tilt his features. He bowed his head respectively, "Thank you, my Gods." Then he rose his even stare to his opponent, "Let your downfall begin. I activate a magic card known as Book of Life. From this, I can destroy one of your monsters and remove it from the game... so, Red Eyes Zombie Dragon, begone!"

"NO!" Sakira watched with wide eyes as her Dragon disintegrated into the very same blue smoke it had arrived with. "You bastard!"

"Your despicable abomination is no more." Shadi returned coolly.

A feral snarl took the woman's lips, "Watch your tongue, you insolent pest, before I decide to remove it from you! My Zombie Dragon is of greater caliber than any of your pathetic cards put together!"

"And how well does it serve you while it continues to rot away on the sidelines? This duel is well rid of it and any other undead creatures you summon. Unfortunately, the vile plague of your deck had affected my own, but that will not last much longer. My monsters have been forced to carry the insult that is your Zombie World for long enough."

She growled, "You will never destroy the world of the undead!"

( ) That's nearly redundant. ( )

)) Enough, brother. ((

((Enough, both of you.)) Shadi's brow furrowed, "I don't need to. I will free my monsters from your spell by defeating you once and for all. However, for now I shall use your curse to my advantage."

Lightning flashed up above as her eye twitched, "What?"

"Do not think you are safe yet from my Book of Life, for my magic card contains another ability - one that allows me to special summon a Zombie from my Graveyard and, since they are all Zombie types now, I will summon Servant of the Pharaoh's Left Hand (0/1500)!"

A man rose onto the field covered in the purest of white cloaks that nearly concealed him from head to toe. The only part of him to be seen was his left arm - left bare with the absence of the sleeve that hid his other arm. Gold shone brightly on his single arm, a single band around his upper arm and an elaborately-designed armlet covering his hand and forearm. In his hand, he held a long, golden staff that beared a sun as its head. Suddenly, a flash of power surged through the creature and his robes turned tattered and dull, the flesh on his arm turning gray and black as it began to rot. The only thing remaining untarnished was his staff.

"When this magician is summoned, I am allowed to take one magic card from my deck and add it to my hand." He chose his card and added it to his hand, "Also, if the Left Hand is alone on the field, the Servant of the Pharaoh's Right Hand is automatically summoned, so rise!"

A second man rose up beside the first in a duplicate robe, only its colour was a soulless black. With his right arm being the only piece of him visible, his pieces of gold adorned him just as finely as the first Spellcaster. He, too, held a long staff in a tight fist - only this one had the head of a crescent moon. The plague of Zombie World hit him like it had the first Servant, tearing at his robes and turning his flesh rotten. His points revealed themselves as 1500/0.

"And, with his arrival, I can pick a trap card from my deck and add it to my hand." He picked his card, "And now to bring forth the being of your destruction, Sorceress! I offer my two creatures as sacrifices to activate this card: Final Ritual of the Ancients."

"You can't!" Sakira snapped back, "You can only tribute summon for Zombie types, Keeper!"

"This is not a tribute summon, Sorceress," He shot back coolly, "It's a ritual summon."

A stone tablet appeared on the field, a figure outlined in white light on its surface. Slowly, the light invaded the empty area of the form until the entire figure glowed brightly on the stone... then, in a blast of white light, the stone shattered and Reshef the Dark Being (2500/1500) exploded onto the field. With a yellow orb as its waist and one blue orb and one red orb as its elbows, the rest of its massive body was made of etched gold... at least, until Zombie World kicked in - turning its entire being into rottening flesh. Even still, the creature loomed over the field, dwarfing the two monsters that opposed it.

Shadi's brow furrowed tensely in determination, "Reshef, use your special ability to take over the mind of Gernia!"

As the Being's eyes glowed red, a seal suddenly appeared over Gernia's forehead and, just like that, its form went limp - allowing itself to be dragged across the field to obey Shadi instead. Sakira could only watch as the duel flew out of her control... how the hell was the Keeper even pulling this off? He's never been in ANY kind of duel before!

"Now, Gernia, I command you to attack Sand Moth!"

Sakira braced herself as the insect shredded under the might of the Zombie's claws, rolling her Life Points down to 3100.

"Now, Reshef the Dark Being, attack the Sorceress directly!"

A charge of electric-like energy surged through the Dark Being before ripping across the field against Sakira. She tried to bite back the scream, but found it a useless effort as it tore from her throat all the same as she was thrown airborne. She landed hard on the ground, her body rolling a few times before she came to lie on her stomach... and, for a moment, there she stayed as her side of the field was wiped clean of monsters. Her Life Points finally stopping at 600, her gaze stared blankly at the grass beneath her as her fingers interlaced with the grass that was so foreign to her senses.

Weakly, her eyes shifted to the card that she still managed to hold in her weak grasp: an Emerald Luster Dragon. She could almost see it shift on the card, turning its head to face her... and she could almost hear its majestic cry. However, even if she could, she wouldn't play it... she didn't want it to rot...

"I play one card facedown. With the end of my turn, your abnormality of a monster is returned to you." Shadi continued, "Sakira, it is your turn now. Take it or admit defeat."

))...I will not be defeated...(( Her eyes suddenly hardened as she began to push herself up, her head jerking up to pierce him with a deadly glare... a look that made him flinch. "...You will pay for that." She snarled, heaving herself to her feet, "No one insults me or my creatures like you've done through this entire duel! No one!"

"Then make your move so we can end this."

"Can't you see, Keeper? It has already ended." Sakira's glare narrowed as she drew her card, "Have you learned nothing? In this duel? In the past three thousand YEARS?! No... you fools are all the same - you'll never change. You're so busy protecting your glorious king, you are blind to everything else around you - you blind yourself to the truth! You underestimate me, Keeper, and now you will pay dearly for your foolishness. For he came to me now," She held up the card she had just drawn, "In order to annihilate you himself. He wouldn't have shown himself to me if this wasn't true, for a duel of this stature isn't worthy of his presence. Your insults against that which you don't understand have unbridled his rage and now he desires vengeance against you. Tomb Keeper," Her glare flashed in her own rage, "You defeated yourself this duel."

Park

By the time Marik had made his way across the city to the park on his motorcycle, he was not only drowned from head to toe but also extremely pissed... mostly because this would probably mean another quest for the beloved Pharaoh and his gang. However, he had decided that if Ishizu's Necklace couldn't see what was going to happen - or, at least, what was happening - than he would have to see it with his own two eyes. The storm felt ominous for everyone, so he figured that would be his best shot and, since the storm seemed centered around the park, that's where he went to.

Flipping the kick-stand down on his bike, Marik then turned and march straight into the dense vegetation where there was barely any trace of a path to follow. Not really trusting the slippery grass and mud to not give out under him, the youngest of the Ishtar clan picked his way carefully up the hill. The storm only seemed to get worse as he made his way up, lightning streaking across the sky just above his head in some kind of dance until he thought that the thunder that cracked simultaneously with it would surely pop his eardrums - but didn't, by one miracle or another. Unknown to him, the deafening lightning was masking the sounds of a much more powerful 'dance' up ahead.

Pulling free of some twigs that had ensnared the sides of his school jacket - making nice rip marks in the fabric - Marik glanced upward at the slight incline that he was walking up. He wasn't quite sure, but he thought that there was a clearing just at the top of this hill... maybe. Taking long, labored breaths as sweat mixed with the rain on his forehead, he was just about half-way up when his foot sunk into a soft patch of mud. Not being able to regain his balance in time, the Egyptian teen's form went flying forward onto the wet grass and slimy mud as his legs slipped back from under him.

Muttering curse words to all lowly and above, he pushed himself back until he sat back on his bent legs and glared down at his front which was now covered with a thick layer of mud and just a hint of grass stains. Still cussing under his breath, he first whipped his face with the back of his sleeve before smearing the mud that was caked on his hands across the grass before him.

"Just my luck." He growled as he looked down at his school uniform, "...Fucking, dry-cleaning shit."

"Have a nice trip?"

The teen's head whipped around from where he sat on the ground, only to face the mocking features of a certain Tomb Robber. His hair sagging down with the rain until it practically concealed his sharp glare completely, Bakura's clothes were as torn up as Marik's were. The teen could tell that the Thief had taken his own spill by the look of the caked-on mud on his lower pants and forearms, a fact that made Marik feel at least a little better about his own appearance.

"Just terrific." The Egyptian spat as he rose to his feet again, "How was yours?"

Bakura glanced down to the mud on his legs and shrugged, "A blast."

Marik glared at the other, not exactly sure if he liked the fact the maniac was here or not. "What are you doing out here?" He inquired coldly.

"What are you?" Crossing his arms over his chest, the Thief King smirked, "Aren't you going to ask me if your pathetic ruler is still alive?"

The blonde growled, "Like I give a shit." Then he turned on his heel and once again began to make his way upwards.

"Oof...!"

Marik smirked at the familiar SPLAT sound behind him.

"...Son of a bi–!"

Park, Forest Clearing

Sakira glared coldly across the clearing to where the form of the Tomb Keeper lay sprawled on his back. The images of their duel - including their Disks - long-since faded away, the Sorceress slowly made her way over to the fallen Bearer. Mud stained his robes now from where he had fallen, his hair an unruly mess around his head. The rain pelted down mercilessly on them both, its downpour growing heavier with the mood of the Star Bearer.

"You defeated yourself." She repeated coldly. ))Like most humans do.((

((Sa...kira...))

))Hikari...?(( She quirked a brow, her mood lightening at the thought of what all this had gained her, ))Aware, are we? You crawled forward even faster than I expected.((

((...S-Shadi...))

))...Is defeated.(( Sakira smirked, ))But never fear, Silent One, I'm not through with him yet. No one who rises against me is allowed an easy passing from this world... and Shadi has yet to know what it truly feels like to die from the inside out.((

Suddenly, the Sorceress' attention was drawn away from her inner discussion at the sounds of voices nearby. One she recognized all too easily, but the other was a complete unknown... and they were coming up the hill practically right beside her.

A smirk came to her lips, ))My dear Bakura... how many times now have you chased me down? And you don't even remember why, do you?(( Her smirk grew to a wicked grin, ))Well, it wouldn't be polite for me to make you come all this way for nothing...((

**END CHAPTER**

For those of you who care / are wondering, "Emerald Luster Dragon" is actually "Luster Dragon #2" ...I just kinda despise the idea of giving a Dragon a number. -.-U Luster Dragon #1 is made of sapphire and Luster Dragon #2 feeds on emeralds (apparently) so I changed its name to Emerald Luster Dragon. Sue me. ;)

All but two cards are real YGO cards in the duel between Shadi and Sakira. The two that are of my creation are Servant of the Pharaoh's Left Hand and Servant of the Pharaoh's Right Hand. Anyone want to draw them for me? I think they'd look so cool! :)

Alright, so... what did we think of Shadi dueling??? I think it was amusing. XD And he has brown hair! Ha! I owe that mental-image to a fanart I saw, I just forget where! Thank you, whoever you were! :D And what is his connection to the mysterious Samara? That'll come with time, my dears... just hang with me on this.

My Favorite Part: Duh. I love Shadi to bits, so of course I love his confrontation with Sakira! XD ...But Bakura rolling across the intersection on the back of a truck comes in at a close second! Lmao!

R&R please!


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